ULSTER'S  STAND  FOR  UNION 


ULSTER'S   STAND 
FOR  UNION 

BY   RONALD   McNEILL 


WITH  FRONTISPIECE 


.--^H--r 


NEW  YORK 

E.   P.   DUTTON  AND  COMPANY 

1922 


125407 


DEDICATED      TO 


THE   MEMORY 


OF 


THE    UNIONIST     PARTY 


PREFACE 

The  term  "  Ulster,"  except  when  the  context  proves  the 
contrary,  is  used  in  this  book  not  in  the  geographical,  but 
the  political  meaning  of  the  word,  which  is  quite  as  well 
understood. 

The  aim  of  the  book  is  to  present  an  account  of  what  I 
have  occasionally  in  its  pages  referred  to  as  "  the  Ulster 
Movement."  The  phrase  is  perhaps  somewhat  para- 
doxical when  applied  to  a  political  ideal  which  was  the 
maintenance  of  the  status  quo  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  steps  taken  during  a  period  of  years  to  organise  an 
effective  opposition  to  interference  with  the  established 
constitution  in  Ireland  did  involve  a  movement,  and  it 
is  with  these  measures,  rather  than  with  the  policy  behind 
them,  that  the  book  is  concerned. 

Indeed,  except  for  a  brief  introductory  outline  of  the 
historical  background  of  the  Ulster  standpoint,  I  have 
taken  for  granted,  or  only  referred  incidentally  to  the 
reasons  for  the  unconquerable  hostility  of  the  Ulster 
Protestants  to  the  idea  of  allowing  the  government  of 
Ireland,  and  especially  of  themselves,  to  pass  into  the 
control  of  a  Parliament  in  Dublin.  Those  reasons  were 
many  and  substantial,  based  upon  considerations  both  of 
a  practical  and  a  sentimental  nature  ;  but  I  have  not 
attempted  an  exposition  of  them,  having  limited  myself 
to  a  narrative  of  the  events  to  which  they  gave  rise. 

Having  been  myself,  during  the  most  important  part  of 
the  period  reviewed,  a  member  of  the  Standing  Committee 
of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council,  and  closely  associated  with 
the  leaders  of  the  movement,  I  have  had  personal  know- 
ledge of  practically  everything  I  have  had  to  record.  I 
have  not,  however,  trusted  to  unaided  memory  for  any 


viii  PREFACE 

statement  of  fact.  It  is  not,  of  course,  a  matter  where 
anything  that  could  be  called  research  was  required ; 
but,  in  addition  to  the  Parliamentary  Reports,  the  Annual 
Register,  and  similar  easily  accessible  books  of  reference, 
there  was  a  considerable  mass  of  private  papers  bearing 
on  the  subject,  for  the  use  of  some  of  which  I  am  indebted 
to  friends. 

I  was  permitted  to  consult  the  Minute-books  of  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council  and  its  Standing  Committee,  and 
also  verbatim  reports  made  for  the  Council  of  unpublished 
speeches  delivered  at  private  meetings  of  those  bodies. 
A  large  collection  of  miscellaneous  documents  accumulated 
by  the  late  Lord  Londonderry  was  kindly  lent  to  me  by 
the  present  Marquis ;  and  I  also  have  to  thank  Lord 
Carson  of  Duncairn  for  the  use  of  letters  and  other  papers 
in  his  possession.  Colonel  F.  H.  Crawford,  C.B.E.,  was 
good  enough  to  place  at  my  disposal  a  very  detailed 
account  written  by  himself  of  the  voyage  of  the  Fanny, 
and  the  log  kept  by  Captain  Agnew.  My  friend  Mr. 
Thomas  Moles,  M.P.,  took  full  shorthand  notes  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Irish  Convention  and  the  principal 
speeches  made  in  it,  and  he  kindly  allowed  me  to  use  his 
transcript.  And  I  should  not  like  to  pass  over  without 
acknowledgment  the  help  given  me  on  several  occasions 
by  Miss  Omash,  of  the  Union  Defence  League,  in  tracing 
references. 

R.  McN. 

February  1922. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGH 

I.     Introduction:   The  Ulster  Standpoint         1 


II.  The  Electorate  and  Home  Rule 

III.  Organisation  and  Leadership 

IV.  The  Parliament  Act:    Craigavon 
V.  The  Craigavon  Policy  and  the  U.F.V 

VI.  Mr.  Churchill  in  Belfast    . 

VII.  "  What  Answer  from  the  North  ?  " 

VIII.  The  Exclusion  of  Ulster     . 

IX.  The  Eve  of  the  Covenant   . 

X.  The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 

XI.  Passing  the  Bill 

XII.  Was  Resistance  Justifiable  ? 

XIII.  Provisional    Government    and    Pro  pa 
ganda       ..... 

XIV.  Lord  Loreburn's  Letter 

XV.  Preparations  and  Proposals 

XVI.  The  Curragh  Incident 

XVII.  Arming  the  U.V.F. 

XVIII.  A  Voyage  of  Adventure 


16 
30 

42 

52 

62 

76 

90 

101 

IIT 

127 

136 

144 
151 
160 
174 
190 
201 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTKR  PAGE 

XIX.     On  the  Brink  of  Civil  War         .         .  215 

XX.     Ulster  in  the  War      .         .         .         .2  29 

XXI.    Negotiations  for  Settlement       .         .  240 

XXII.     The  Irish  Convention.          .         .         .  252 

XXIII.  Nationalists  and  Conscription     .         .  266 

XXIV.  The  Ulster  Parliament        .         .         .  275 

APPENDIX 

A.  Nationalist  Letter  to  President  Wil- 

son             287 

B.  Unionist  Letter  to  President  Wilson  296 
INDEX 300 


ULSTER'S  STAND  FOR  UNION 

CHAPTER    I 

INTRODUCTION  :    THE   ULSTER   STANDPOINT 

Like  all  other  movements  in  human  affairs,  the  opposition 
of  the  Northern  Protestants  of  Ireland  to  the  agitation  of 
their  Nationalist  fellow-countrymen  for  Home  Rule  can 
only  be  properly  understood  by  those  who  take  some 
pains  to  get  at  the  true  motives,  and  to  appreciate  the 
spirit,  of  those  who  engaged  in  it.  And  as  it  is  nowhere 
more  true  than  in  Ireland  that  the  events  of  to-day  are 
the  outcome  of  events  that  occurred  longer  ago  than 
yesterday,  and  that  the  motives  of  to-day  have  conse- 
quently their  roots  buried  somewhat  deeply  in  the  past, 
it  is  no  easy  task  for  the  outside  observer  to  gain  the 
insight  requisite  for  understanding  fairly  the  conduct  of 
the  persons  concerned. 

It  was  Mr.  Asquith  who  very  truly  said  that  the  Irish 
question,  of  which  one  of  the  principal  factors  is  the 
opposition  of  Ulster  to  Home  Rule,  "  springs  from  sources 
that  are  historic,  economic,  social,  racial,  and  religious." 
It  would  be  a  hopeless  undertaking  to  attempt  here  to 
probe  to  the  bottom  an  origin  so  complex  ;  but,  whether 
the  sympathies  of  the  reader  be  for  or  against  the  stand- 
point of  the  Irish  Loyalists,  the  actual  events  which  make 
up  what  may  be  called  the  Ulster  Movement  would  be 
wholly  unintelligible  without  some  introductory  retro- 
spect. Indeed,  to  those  who  set  out  to  judge  Irish  political 
conditions  without  troubling  themselves  about  anything 
more  ancient  than  their  own  memory  can  recall,  the  most 
fundamental  factor  of  all — the  line  of  cleavage  between 
Ulster  and  the  rest  of  the  island — is  more  than  unintelli- 
gible. In  the  eyes  of  many  it  presents  itself  as  an  example 
of  perversity,  of  "  cussedness  "  on  the  part  of  men  who 

1 


2      INTRODUCTION:    THE   ULSTER   STANDPOINT 

insist  on  magnifying  mere  differences  of  opinion,  which  would 
be  easily  composed  by  reasonable  people,  into  obstacles  to 
co-operation  which  have  no  reality  behind  them. 

Writers  and  speakers  on  the  Nationalist  side  deride  the 
idea  of  "  two  nations  "  in  Ireland,  calling  in  evidence 
many  obvious  identities  of  interest,  of  sentiment,  or  of 
temperament  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  North  and 
of  the  South.  The  Ulsterman  no  more  denies  these 
identities  than  the  Greek,  the  Bulgar,  and  the  Serb  would 
deny  that  there  are  features  common  to  all  dwellers  in 
the  Balkan  peninsula  ;  but  he  is  more  deeply  conscious  of 
the  difference  than  of  the  likeness  between  himself  and 
the  man  from  Munster  or  Connaught.  His  reply  to 
those  who  denounced  the  Irish  Government  Act  of  1920 
on  the  ground  that  it  set  up  a  "  partition  of  Ireland,"  is 
that  the  Act  did  not  "  set  up,"  but  only  recognised,  the 
partition  which  history  made  long  ago,  and  which 
wrecked  all  attempts  to  solve  the  problem  of  Irish  Govern- 
ment that  neglected  to  take  it  into  account.  If  there  be 
any  force  in  Renan's  saying  that  the  root  of  nationality 
is  "  the  will  to  live  together,"  the  Nationalist  cry  of 
'*  Ireland  a  Nation  "  harmonises  ill  with  the  actual  con- 
ditions of  Ireland  north  and  south  of  the  Boyne.  This 
dividing  gulf  between  the  two  populations  in  Ireland  is 
the  result  of  the  same  causes  as  the  political  dissension 
that  springs  from  it,  as  described  by  Mr.  Asquith  in  words 
quoted  above.  The  tendencies  of  social  and  racial  origin 
operate  for  the  most  part  subconsciously — though  not 
perhaps  less  powerfully  on  that  account ;  those  connected 
with  economic  considerations,  with  religious  creeds,  and 
with  events  in  political  history  enter  directly  and  con- 
sciously into  the  formation  of  convictions  which  in  turn 
become  the  motives  for  action. 

In  the  mind  of  the  average  Ulster  Unionist  the  particular 
point  of  contrast  between  himself  and  the  Nationalist  of 
which  he  is  more  forcibly  conscious  than  of  any  other, 
and  in  which  all  other  distinguishing  traits  are  merged,  is 
that  he  is  loyal  to  the  British  Crown  and  the  British  Flag, 
whereas  the  other  man  is  loyal  to  neither.  Religious 
intolerance,  so  far  as  the  Protestants  are  concerned,  of 


LOYALTY  TO   THE   CROWN  8 

which  so  much  is  heard,  is  in  actual  fact  mainly  traceable 
to  the  same  sentiment.  It  is  unfortunately  true  that  the 
lines  of  political  and  of  religious  division  coincide  ;  but 
religious  dissensions  seldom  flare  up  except  at  times  of 
political  excitement ;  and,  while  it  is  undeniable  that 
the  temper  of  the  creeds  more  resembles  what  prevailed 
in  England  in  the  seventeenth  than  in  the  twentieth 
century,  yet  when  overt  hostility  breaks  out  it  is  because 
the  creed  is  taken — and  usually  taken  rightly — as  prima 
facie  evidence  of  political  opinion — political  opinion 
meaning  "  loyalty  "  or  "  disloyalty,"  as  the  case  may  be. 
The  label  of  "  loyalist "  is  that  which  the  Ulsterman 
cherishes  above  all  others.  It  means  something  definite 
to  him  ;  its  special  significance  is  reinforced  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  its  wearers  that  they  are  a  minority  ;  it 
sustains  the  feeling  that  the  division  between  parties  is 
something  deeper  and  more  fundamental  than  anything 
that  in  England  is  called  difference  of  opinion.  This 
feeling  accounts  for  much  that  sometimes  perplexes  even 
the  sympathetic  English  observer,  and  moves  the  hostile 
partisan  to  scornful  criticism.  The  ordinary  Protestant 
farmer  or  artisan  of  Ulster  is  by  nature  as  far  as  possible 
removed  from  the  being  who  is  derisively  nicknamed  the 
"  noisy  patriot "  or  the  "  flag-wagging  jingo."  If  the 
National  Anthem  has  become  a  "  party  tune  "  in  Ireland, 
it  is  not  because  the  loyalist  sings  it,  but  because  the  dis- 
loyalist shuns  it ;  and  its  avoidance  at  gatherings  both  politi- 
cal and  social  where  Nationalists  predominate,  naturally 
makes  those  who  value  loyalty  the  more  punctilious  in  its 
use.  If  there  is  a  profuse  display  of  the  Union  Jack,  it  is 
because  it  is  in  Ulster  not  merely  "  bunting  "  for  decorative 
purposes  as  in  England,  but  the  symbol  of  a  cherished  faith. 
There  may,  perhaps,  be  some  persons,  unfamiliar  with 
the  Ulster  cast  of  mind,  who  find  it  hard  to  reconcile  this 
profession  of  passionate  loyalty  with  the  methods  embarked 
upon  in  1912  by  the  Ulster  people.  It  is  a  question  upon 
which  there  will  be  something  to  be  said  when  the 
narrative  reaches  the  events  of  that  date.  Here  it  need 
only  be  stated  that,  in  the  eyes  of  Ulstermen  at  all  events, 
constitutional  orthodoxy  is  quite  a  different  thing  from 


4      INTRODUCTION:     THE   ULSTER   STANDPOINT 

loyalty,  and  that  true  allegiance  to  the  Sovereign  is  by 
them  sharply  differentiated  from  passive  obedience  to  an 
Act  of  Parliament. 

The  sincerity  with  which  this  loyalist  creed  is  held  by 
practically    the    entire    Protestant    population    of   Ulster 
cannot  be  questioned  by  anyone  who  knows  the  people, 
however  much  he  may  criticise  it  on  other  grounds.     And 
equally  sincere  is  the  conviction  held  by  the  same  people 
that   disloyalty   is,    and   always   has   been,   the   essential 
characteristic  of  Nationalism.     The  conviction  is  founded 
on    close    personal    contact    continued    through     many 
generations  with  the  adherents  of  that  political  party,  and 
the    tradition    thus    formed    draws    more    support    from 
authentic  history  than  many  Englishmen  are  willing  to 
believe.     Consequently,    when    the    General    Election    of 
1918  revealed  that  the  whole  of  Nationalist  Ireland  had 
gone  over  with  foot,  horse,  and  artillery,  with  bag  and 
baggage,  from  the  camp  of  so-called  Constitutional  Home 
Rule,  to  the  Sinn  Feiners  who  made  no  pretence  that 
their   aim  was   anything  short  of  complete  independent 
sovereignty  for  Ireland,  no  surprise  was  felt  in  Ulster.     It 
was   there   realised  that  nothing   had   happened  beyond 
the  throwing  off  of  the  mask  which  had  been  used  as  a 
matter  of  political  tactics  to  disguise  what  had  always 
been  the  real  underlying  aim,  if  not  of  the  parliamentary 
leaders,   at  all  events  of  the  great  mass  of  Nationalist 
opinion  throughout  the  three   southern   provinces.     The 
whole  population  had  not  with  one  consent  changed  their 
views  in  the  course  of  a  night ;    they  had  merely  rallied 
to  support  the  first  leaders  whom  they  had  found  prepared 
to  proclaim  the  true  objective.     Curiously  enough,  this 
truth  was  realised  by  an  English  politician  who  was  in 
other  respects  conspicuously  deficient  in  insight  regarding 
Ireland.     The  Easter  insurrection  of  1916  in  Dublin  was 
only  rendered  possible  by  the  negligence  or  the  incom- 
petence of  the  Chief  Secretary  ;    but,  in  giving  evidence 
before  the  Commission  appointed  to  inquire  into  it,  Mr. 
Birrell  said  :    "  The  spirit  of  what  to-day  is  called  Sinn 
Feinism  is  mainly  composed  of  the  old  hatred  and  distrust 
of  the  British  connection  .  .  .  always  there  as  the  back- 


NATIONALIST  DISLOYALTY  5 

ground  of  Irish  politics  and  character  "  ;  and,  after  recaHing 
that  Cardinal  Newman  had  observed  the  same  state  of 
feeling  in  Dublin  more  than  half  a  century  before,  Mr. 
Birrcll  added  quite  truly  that  "  this  dislike,  hatred,  dis- 
loyalty (so  unintelligible  to  many  Englishmen)  is  hard  to 
define  but  easy  to  discern,  though  incapable  of  exact 
measurement  from  year  to  year."  This  disloyal  spirit, 
which  struck  Newman,  and  which  Mr.  Birrell  found  easy 
to  discern,  was  of  course  always  familiar  to  Ulstermen  as 
characteristic  of  "  the  South  and  West,"  and  was  their 
justification  for  the  badge  of  "  loyalist,"  their  assumption 
of  which  English  Liberals,  knowing  nothing  of  Ireland, 
held  to  be  an  unjust  slur  on  the  Irish  majority. 

If  this  belief  in  the  inherent  disloyalty  of  Nationalist 
Ireland  to  the  British  Empire  did  any  injustice  to  indi- 
vidual Nationalist  politicians,  they  had  nobody  but 
themselves  to  blame  for  it.  Their  pronouncements  in 
America,  as  well  as  at  home,  were  scrutinised  in  Ulster 
with  a  care  that  Englishmen  seldom  took  the  trouble  to 
give  them.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that,  up  to  the  date 
when  Mr.  Gladstone  made  Home  Rule  a  plank  in  an 
English  party's  programme — which,  whatever  else  it  did, 
could  not  alter  the  facts  of  the  case — the  same  conviction, 
held  in  Ulster  so  tenaciously,  had  prevailed  almost 
universally  in  Great  Britain  also  ;  and  had  been  proclaimed 
by  no  one  so  vehemently  as  by  Mr.  Gladstone  himself, 
whose  famous  declarations  that  the  Nationalists  of  that 
day  were  "  steeped  to  the  lips  in  treason,"  and  were 
"  marching  through  rapine  to  the  dismemberment  of 
the  Empire,"  were  not  so  quickly  forgotten  in  Ulster  as  in 
England,  nor  so  easily  passed  over  as  either  meaningless 
or  untrue  as  soon  as  they  became  inconvenient  for  a 
political  party  to  remember.  English  supporters  of 
Home  Rule,  when  reminded  of  such  utterances,  dismissed 
with  a  shrug  the  "  unedifying  pastime  of  unearthing 
buried  speeches  "  ;  and  showed  equal  determination  to 
see  nothing  in  speeches  delivered  by  Nationalist  leaders  in 
America  inconsistent  with  the  purely  constitutional 
demand  for  "  extended  self-government." 

Ulster  never  would  consent  to  bandage  her  own  eyes  in 


6^    INTRODUCTION:     THE   ULSTER   STANDPOINT 

similar  fashion,  or  to  plug  her  ears  with  wool.  The  "  two 
voices  "  of  Nationalist  leaders,  from  Mr.  Parnell  to  Mr. 
Dillon,  were  equally  audible  to  her  ;  and,  of  the  two, 
she  was  certain  that  the  true  aim  of  Nationalist  policy 
was  expressed  by  the  one  whose  tone  was  disloyal  to  the 
British  Empire.  Look-out  was  kept  for  any  change  in 
the  direction  of  moderation,  for  any  real  indication  that 
those  who  professed  to  be  "  constitutional  Nationalists  " 
were  any  less  determined  than  "the  physical  force  party"  to 
reach  the  goal  described  by  Parnell  in  the  famous  sentence, 
"  None  of  us  will  be  .  .  .  satisfied  until  we  have  destroyed 
the  last  link  which  keeps  Ireland  bound  to  England." 

No  such  indication  was  ever  discernible.  On  the 
contrary,  Parnell's  phrase  became  a  refrain  to  be  heard 
in  many  later  pronouncements  of  his  successors,  and  the 
policy  he  thus  described  was  again  and  again  propounded 
in  after- years  on  innumerable  Nationalist  platforms,  in 
speeches  constantly  quoted  to  prove,  as  was  the  contention 
of  Ulster  from  the  first,  that  Home  Rule  as  understood 
by  English  Liberals  was  no  more  than  an  instalment  of 
the  real  demand  of  Nationalists,  who,  if  they  once 
obtained  the  "  comparative  freedom  "  of  an  Irish  legislature 
— to  quote  the  words  used  by  Mr.  Devlin  at  a  later  date 
— would  then,  with  that  leverage,  "  operate  by  whatever 
means  they  should  think  best  to  achieve  the  great  and 
desirable  end  "  of  complete  independence  of  Great  Britain. 

This  was  an  end  that  could  not  by  any  juggling  be 
reconciled  with  the  Ulsterman's  notion  of  "  loyalty." 
Moreover,  whatever  knowledge  he  possessed  of  his  country's 
history — and  he  knows  a  good  deal  more,  man  for  man, 
than  the  Englishman — confirmed  his  deep  distrust  of 
those  whom,  following  the  example  of  John  Bright,  he 
always  bluntly  described  as  "  the  rebel  party."  He 
knew  something  of  the  rebellions  in  Ireland  in  the  seven- 
teenth, eighteenth,  and  nineteenth  centuries,  and  was 
under  no  illusion  as  to  the  design  for  which  arms  had 
been  taken  up  in  the  past.  He  knew  that  that  design 
had  not  changed  with  the  passing  of  generations,  although 
gentler  methods  of  accomplishing  it  might  sometimes 
find  favour.     Indeed,  one  Nationalist  leader  himself  took 


REFORMERS   AND   REBELS  7 

pains,    at   a   comparatively   recent   date,  to  remove  any 

excuse  there  may  ever  have  been  for  doubt  on  this  point. 

Mr.  John  Redmond  was  an  orator  who  selected  his  words 

with   care,   and   his   appeals   to   historical   analogies   were 

not  made  haphazard.     When  he  declared  (in  a  speech  in 

1901)  that,  "  in  its  essence,  the  national  movement  to-day 

is  the  same  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Hugh  O'Neill,  of  Owen 

Roe,  of  Emmet,  or  of  Wolfe  Tone,"  those  names,  which 

would  have  had  but  a  shadowy  significance  for  a  popular 

audience  in  England,  carried  very  definite  meaning  to  the 

ears  of  Irishmen,  whether  Nationalist  or  Unionist.     Mr. 

Gladstone,  in  the  fervour  of  his  conversion  to  Home  Rule, 

was  fond  of  allusions  to  the  work  of  Molyneux  and  Swift, 

Flood   and   Grattan  ;     but  these   were    men    whose    Irish 

patriotism   never   betrayed   them   into   disloyalty   to   the 

British  Crown  or  hostility  to  the  British  connection.    They 

were  reformers,  not  rebels.   But  it  was  not  with  the  political 

ideals  of  such  men  that  Mr,  Redmond  claimed  his  own 

to  be  identical,  nor  even  with  that  of  O'Connell,  the  apostle 

of  repeal  of  the  Union,  but  with  the  aims  of  men  who, 

animated  solely  by  hatred  of  England,  sought  to  establish 

the  complete  independence  of  Ireland  by  force  of  arms, 

and  in  some  cases  by  calling  in  (like  Roger  Casement  in 

our  own  day)  the  aid  of  England's  foreign  enemies. 

In  the  face  of  appeals  like  this  to  the  historic  imagination 
of  an  impressionable  people,  it  is  not  surprising  that  by 
neither  Mr.  Redmond's  followers  nor  by  his  opponents 
was  much  account  taken  of  his  own  personal  disapproval 
of  extremes  both  of  means  and  ends.  His  opponents  in 
Ulster  simply  accepted  such  utterances  as  confirmation  of 
what  they  had  known  all  along  from  other  sources  to  be 
the  actual  facts,  namely,  that  the  Home  Rule  agitation 
was  "  in  its  essence  "  a  separatist  movement ;  that  its 
adherents  were,  as  Mr.  Redmond  himself  said  on  another 
occasion,  "  as  much  rebels  as  their  fathers  were  in  1798  "  ; 
and  that  the  men  of  Ulster  were,  together  with  some 
scattered  sympathisers  in  the  other  Provinces,  the 
depositaries  of  the  "  loyal  "  tradition. 

The  latter  could  boast  of  a  pedigree  as  long  as  that  of 
the  rebels.     If  Mr.   Redmond's   followers   were  to  trace 
2 


8      INTRODUCTION:     THE   ULSTER   STANDPOINT 

their  political  ancestry,  as  he  told  them,  to  the  great  Earl 
of  Tyrone  who  essayed  to  overthrow  England  with  the 
help  of  the  Spaniard  and  the  Pope,  the  Ulster  Protestants 
could  claim  descent  from  the  men  of  the  Plantation, 
through  generation  after  generation  of  loyalists  who  had 
kept  the  British  flag  flying  in  Ireland  in  times  of  stress 
and  danger,  when  Mr.  Redmond's  historical  heroes  were 
making  England's  difficulty  Ireland's  opportunity. 

There  have  been,  and  are,  many  individual  Nationalists, 
no  doubt,  especially  among  the  more  educated  and 
thoughtful,  to  whom  it  would  be  unjust  to  impute  bad 
faith  when  they  professed  that  their  political  aspirations 
for  Ireland  were  really  limited  to  obtaining  local  control 
of  local  affairs,  and  who  resented  being  called  "  Separa- 
tists," since  their  desire  was  not  for  separation  from 
Great  Britain  but  for  the  "  union  of  hearts,"  which  they 
believed  would  grow  out  of  extended  self-government. 
But  the  answer  of  Irish  Unionists,  especially  in  Ulster,  has 
always  been  that,  whatever  such  "  moderate,"  or  "  con- 
stitutional "  Nationalists  might  dream,  it  would  be  found 
in  practice,  if  the  experiment  were  made,  that  no  halting- 
place  could  be  found  between  legislative  union  and  com- 
plete separation.  Moreover,  the  same  view  was  held  by 
men  as  far  as  possible  removed  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  Ulster  Protestant.  Cardinal  Manning,  for  example, 
although  an  intimate  personal  friend  of  Gladstone,  in  a 
letter  to  Leo  XIII,  wrote  :  "As  for  myself.  Holy  Father, 
allow  me  to  say  that  I  consider  a  Parliament  in  Dublin 
and  a  separation  to  be  equivalent  to  the  same  thing. 
Ireland  is  not  a  Colony  like  Canada,  but  it  is  an  integral 
and  vital  part  of  one  country."  ^ 

It  is  improbable  that  identical  lines  of  reasoning  led  the 
Roman  Catholic  Cardinal  and  the  Belfast  Orangeman  and 
Presbyterian  to  this  identical  conclusion  ;  but  a  position 
reached  by  convergent  paths  from  such  distant  points  of 
departure  is  defensible  presumably  on  grounds  more  solid 
than  prejudice  or  passion.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to 
examine  those  grounds  at  length,  for  the  present  purpose 
is  not  to  argue  the  Ulster  case,  but  to  let  the  reader  know 

1  Henry  Edward  Maiming,  by  Shane  Leslie,  p.  406. 


HOME  RULE  AND  ROME  RULE        9 

what  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Ulster  point  of  view, 
whether  that  point  of  view  was  well  or  ill  founded. 

But,  while  the  opinion  that  a  Dublin  Parliament  meant 
separation  was  shared  by  many  who  had  little  else  in 
common  with  the  Ulster  Protestants,  the  latter  stood 
alone  in  the  intensity  of  their  conviction  that  "  Home 
Rule  meant  Rome  Rule."  It  has  already  been  mentioned 
that  it  is  the  "  disloyalty  "  attributed  rightly  or  wrongly 
to  the  Roman  Catholics  as  a  body  that  has  been,  in  recent 
times  at  all  events,  the  mainspring  of  Protestant  distrust. 
But  sectarian  feeling,  everywhere  common  between  rival 
creeds,  is,  of  course,  by  no  means  absent.  Englishmen 
find  it  hard  to  understand  what  seems  to  them  the  bigoted 
and  senseless  animosity  of  the  rival  faiths  in  Ireland. 
This  is  due  to  the  astonishing  shortness  of  their  memory 
in  regard  to  their  own  history,  and  their  very  limited 
outlook  on  the  world  outside  their  own  island.  If,  without 
looking  further  back  in  their  history,  they  reflected  that 
the  "  No  Popery  "  feeling  in  England  in  mid-Victorian 
days  was  scarcely  less  intense  than  it  is  in  Ulster  to-day  ; 
or  if  they  realised  the  extent  to  which  Gambetta's  "  Le 
clericalisme,  voila  I'ennemi"  continues  still  to  influence 
public  life  in  France,  they  might  be  less  ready  to  censure 
the  Irish  Protestant's  dislike  of  priestly  interference  in 
affairs  outside  the  domain  of  faith  and  morals.  It  is  indeed 
remarkable  that  Nonconformists,  especially  in  Wales, 
who  within  living  memory  have  displayed  their  own  horror 
of  the  much  milder  form  of  sacerdotalism  to  be  found  in 
the  Anglican  Church,  have  no  sympathy  apparently  with 
the  Presbyterian  and  the  Methodist  in  Ulster  when  the 
latter  kick  against  the  encompassing  pressure  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  priesthood,  not  in  educational  matters 
alone,  but  in  all  the  petty  activities  of  every-day  life. 

Whenever  this  aspect  of  the  Home  Rule  controversy 
was  emphasised  Englishmen  asked  what  sort  of  perse- 
cution Irish  Protestants  had  to  fear  from  a  Parliament  in 
Dublin,  and  appeared  to  think  all  such  fear  illusory  unless 
evidence  could  be  adduced  that  the  Holy  Office  was  to 
be  set  up  at  Maynooth,  equipped  with  faggot  and  thumb- 
screw.    Of  persecution  of  that  sort  there  never  has  been. 


10     INTRODUCTION:     THE   ULSTER   STANDPOINT 

of  course,  any  apprehension  in  modern  times.  Individual 
Catholics  and  Protestants  hve  side  by  side  in  Ireland  with 
fully  as  much  amity  as  elsewhere,  but  whereas  the  Catholic 
instinctively,  and  by  upbringing,  looks  to  the  parish  priest 
as  his  director  in  all  affairs  of  life,  the  Protestant  dislikes 
and  resists  clerical  influence  as  strongly  as  does  the  Non- 
conformist in  England  and  Wales — and  with  much  better 
reason.  For  the  latter  has  never  known  clericalism  as  it 
exists  in  a  Roman  Catholic  country  where  the  Church  is 
wholly  unrestrained  by  the  civil  power.  He  has  resented 
what  he  regards  as  Anglican  arrogance  in  regard  to 
educational  management  or  the  use  of  burying-grounds, 
but  he  has  never  experienced  a  much  more  aggressive 
clerical  temper  exercised  in  all  the  incidents  of  daily  life — 
in  the  market,  the  political  meeting,  the  disposition  of 
property,  the  amusements  of  the  people,  the  polling  booth, 
the  farm,  and  the  home. 

This  involves  no  condemnation  of  the  Irish  priest  as  an  in- 
dividual or  as  a  minister  of  his  Church.  He  is  kind-hearted, 
charitable,  and  conscientious  ;  and,  except  that  it  does  not 
encourage  self-reliance  and  enterprise,  his  influence  with  his 
own  people  is  no  more  open  to  criticism  than  that  of  any 
other  body  of  religious  ministers.  But  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  has  always  made  a  larger  claim  than  any  other  on  the 
obedience  of  its  adherents,  and  it  has  always  enforced  that 
obedience  whenever  it  has  had  the  power  by  methods 
which,  in  Protestant  opinion,  are  extremely  objectionable. 
In  theory  the  claim  may  be  limited  to  affairs  concerned 
with  faith  and  morals  ;  but  the  definition  of  such  affairs  is 
a  very  elastic  one.  Cardinal  Logue  not  many  years  ago 
said  :  "  When  politica?  action  trenches  upon  faith  or 
morals  or  affects  religion,  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  as  the 
supreme  teacher  and  guardian  of  faith  and  morals,  and  as 
the  custodian  of  the  immunities  of  religion,  has,  by  Divine 
Right,  authority  to  interfere  and  to  enforce  his  decisions." 
How  far  this  principle  is  in  practice  carried  beyond  the 
limits  so  defined  was  proved  in  the  famous  Meath  election 
petition  in  1892,  in  which  the  Judge  who  tried  it,  himself 
a  devout  Catholic,  declared  :  "  The  Church  became  con- 
verted for  the  time  being  into  a  vast  political  agency,  a 


CLERICALISM   IN   IRELAND  11 

great  moral  machine  moving  with  resistless  influence, 
united  action,  and  a  single  will.  Every  priest  who  was 
examined  was  a  canvasser  ;  the  canvas  was  everywhere 
— on  the  altar,  in  the  vestry,  on  the  roads,  in  the  houses." 
And  while  an  election  was  in  progress  in  County  Tyrone  in 
1911  a  parish  priest  announced  that  any  Catholic  who 
should  vote  for  the  Unionist  candidate  "  would  be  held 
responsible  at  the  Day  of  Judgment."  A  still  more 
notorious  example  of  clericalism  in  secular  affairs,  within 
the  recollection  of  Englishmen,  was  the  veto  on  the 
Military  Service  Act  proclaimed  from  the  altars  of  the 
Catholic  Churches,  which,  during  the  Great  War,  defeated 
the  application  to  Ireland  of  the  compulsory  service  which 
England,  Scotland,  and  Wales  accepted  as  the  only 
alternative  to  national  defeat  and  humiliation. 

But  these  were  only  conspicuous  examples  of  what  the 
Irish  Protestant  sees  around  him  every  day  of  his  life. 
The  promulgation  in  1908  of  the  Vatican  decree.  Nee 
Temere,  a  papal  reassertion  of  the  canonical  invalidity  of 
mixed  marriages,  followed  as  it  was  by  notorious  cases  of 
the  victimisation  of  Protestant  women  by  the  application 
of  its  principles,  did  not  encourage  the  Protestants  to 
welcome  the  prospect  of  a  Catholic  Parliament  that  would 
have  control  of  the  marriage  law  ;  nor  did  they  any  more 
readily  welcome  the  prospect  of  national  education  on 
purely  ecclesiastical  lines.  Another  Vatican  decree  that 
was  equally  alarming  to  Protestants  was  that  entitled 
Motu  Proprio,  by  which  any  Catholic  layman  was  ipso  facto 
excommunicated  who  should  have  the  temerity  to  bring 
a  priest  into  a  civil  court  either  as  defendant  or  witness. 
Medievalism  like  this  was  felt  by  Ulster  Protestants  to  be 
irreconcilable  with  modern  ideas  of  democratic  freedom, 
and  to  indicate  a  temper  that  boded  ill  for  any  regime 
which  would  be  subject  to  its  inspiration.  These  were 
matters,  it  is  true, — and  there  were  perhaps  some  others 
of  a  similar  nature — on  which  it  is  possible  to  conceive 
more  or  less  satisfactory  legislative  safeguards  being 
provided  ;  but  as  regards  the  indefinable  but  innumerable 
minutiae  in  which  the  prevailing  ecclesiastical  standpoint 
creates  an  atmosphere  in  which  daily  life  has  to  be  carried 


12     INTRODUCTION:     THE  ULSTER   STANDPOINT 

on,  no  safeguards  could  be  devised,  and  it  was  the  realisa- 
tion of  this  truth  in  the  light  of  their  own  experience  that 
made  the  Ulstermen  continually  close  their  ears  to  allure- 
ments of  that  sort. 

The  Roman  Church  is  quite  consistent,  and  from  its  own 
point  of  view  praiseworthy,  in  its  assertion  of  its  right, 
and  its  duty,  to  control  the  lives  and  thoughts  of  men  ; 
but  this  assertion  has  produced  a  clash  with  the  non- 
ecclesiastical  mind  in  almost  every  country  where 
Catholicism  is  the  dominant  religious  faith.  But  in 
Ireland,  unlike  Continental  countries,  there  is  no  Catholic 
lay  opinion — or  almost  none — able  to  make  its  voice  heard 
against  clerical  dictation,  and  consequently  the  Protestants 
felt  convinced,  with  good  reason,  that  any  legislature  in 
Ireland  must  take  its  tone  from  this  pervading  mental  and 
moral  atmosphere,  and  that  all  its  proceedings  would 
necessarily  be  tainted  by  it. 

Prior  to  1885  the  political  complexion  of  Ulster  was  in 
the  main  Liberal.  The  Presbyterians,  who  formed  the 
majority  of  the  Protestant  population,  collateral  descen- 
dants of  the  men  who  emigrated  in  the  eighteenth  century 
and  formed  the  backbone  of  Washington's  army,  and 
direct  descendants  of  those  who  joined  the  United  Irishmen 
in  1798,  were  of  a  pronounced  Liberal  type,  and  their 
frequently  strong  disapproval  of  Orangeism  made  any 
united  political  action  an  improbable  occurrence.  But  the 
crisis  brought  about  by  Gladstone's  declaration  in  favour 
of  Home  Rule  instantly  swept  all  sections  of  Loyalists 
into  a  single  camp.  There  was  practically  not  a  Liberal' 
left  who  did  not  become  Unionist,  and,  although  a  separate 
organisation  of  Liberal  Unionists  was  maintained,  the  co- 
operation with  Conservatives  was  so  whole-hearted  and 
complete  as  almost  to  amount  to  fusion  from  the  outset. 

The  immediate  cessation  of  class  friction  was  still  more 
remarkable.  For  more  than  a  decade  the  perennial  quarrel 
between  landlord  and  tenant  had  been  increasing  in 
intensity,  and  the  recent  land  legislation  had  disposed 
the  latter  to  look  upon  Gladstone  as  a  deliverer.  Their 
gratitude  was  wiped  out  the  moment  he  hoisted  the  green 
flag,  while  the  labourers  enfranchised  by  the  Act  of  1884 


THE   BILL   OF   1886   AND   ITS   EFFECTS  13 

eagerly  enrolled  themselves  as  the  bitterest  enemies  of  his 
new  Irish  policy.  The  unanimity  of  the  country-side  was 
matched  in  the  towns,  and  especially  in  Belfast,  where, 
with  the  single  exception  of  a  definitely  Catholic  quarter, 
employer  and  artisan  were  as  whole-heartedly  united  as 
were  landlord  and  tenant  in  passionate  resentment  at 
what  they  regarded  as  the  betrayal  by  England's  foremost 
statesman  of  England's  only  friends  in  Ireland. 

The  defeat  of  the  Home  Rule  Bill  of  1886  brought  relief 
from  the  immediate  strain  of  anxiety.  But  it  was  at  once 
realised  that  the  encouragement  and  support  given  to 
Irish  disloyalty  for  the  first  time  by  one  of  the  great 
political  parties  in  Great  Britain  was  a  step  that  could 
never  be  recalled.  Henceforth  the  vigilance  required  to 
prevent  being  taken  unawares,  and  the  untiring  organisa- 
tion necessary  for  making  effective  defence  against  an 
attack  which,  although  it  had  signally  failed  at  the  first 
onslaught,  was  certain  to  be  renewed,  welded  all  the 
previously  diverse  social  and  political  elements  in  Ulster 
into  a  single  compact  mass,  tempered  to  the  maximum 
power  of  resistance.  There  was  room  for  no  other  thought 
in  the  minds  of  men  who  felt  as  if  living  in  a  beleaguered 
citadel,  whose  flag  they  were  bound  in  honour  to  keep 
flying  to  the  last.  The  "  loyalist "  tradition  acquired 
fresh  meaning  and  strength,  and  its  historical  setting  took 
a  more  conscious  hold  on  the  public  mind  of  Ulster,  as 
men  studied  afresh  the  story  of  the  Relief  of  Derry  or 
the  horrors  of  1641.  Visits  of  encouragement  from  the 
leaders  of  Unionism  across  the  Channel,  men  like  Lord 
Salisbury,  Mr.  Balfour,  Mr.  Chamberlain,  Lord  Randolph 
Churchill,  fortified  the  resolution  of  a  populace  that  came 
more  and  more  to  regard  themselves  as  a  bulwark  of  the 
Empire,  on  whom  destiny,  while  conferring  on  them  the 
honour  of  upholding  the  flag,  had  imposed  the  duty  of 
putting  into  actual  practice  the  familiar  motto  of  the 
Orange  Lodges — "  No  surrender." 

From  a  psychology  so  bred  and  nourished  sprang  a 
political  temper  which,  as  it  hardened  with  the  passing 
years,  appeared  to  English  Home  Rulers  to  be  "  stiff- 
necked,"  "  bigoted,"  and  "  intractable."     It  certainly  was 


14     INTRODUCTION:    THE   ULSTER   STANDPOINT 

a  state  of  mind  very  different  from  those  shifting  gusts  of 
transient  impression  which  in  England  go  by  the  name  of 
public  opinion  ;  and,  if  these  epithets  in  the  mouths  of 
opponents  be  taken  as  no  more  than  synonyms  for  "  un- 
compromising," they  were  not  undeserved.  At  a  memor- 
able meeting  at  the  Albert  Hall  in  London  on  the  22nd 
of  April,  1893,  Dr.  Alexander,  Bishop  of  Derry,  poet,  orator, 
and  divine,  declared  in  an  eloquent  passage  that  was 
felt  to  be  the  exact  expres'sion  of  Ulster  conviction,  that 
the  people  of  Ulster,  when  exhorted  to  show  confidence  in 
their  southern  fellow-countrymen,  "  could  no  more  be 
confiding  about  its  liberty  than  a  pure  woman  can  be 
confiding  about  her  honour." 

Here  was  the  irreconcilable  division.  The  Nationalist 
talked  of  centuries  of  "  oppression,"  and  demanded  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union  in  the  name  of  liberty.  The 
Ulsterman,  while  far  from  denying  the  misgovernment  of 
former  times,  knew  that  it  was  the  fruit  of  false  ideas 
which  had  passed  away,  and  that  the  Ireland  in  which  he 
lived  enjoyed  as  much  liberty  as  any  land  on  earth  ;  and 
he  feared  the  loss  of  the  true  liberty  he  had  gained  if  put 
back  under  a  regime  of  Nationalist  and  Utramontane 
domination.  And  so  for  more  than  thirty  years  the 
people  of  Ulster  for  whom  Bishop  Alexander  spoke  made 
good  his  words.  If  in  the  end  compromise  was  forced 
upon  them  it  was  not  because  their  standpoint  had 
changed,  and  it  was  only  in  circumstances  which  involved 
no  dishonour,  and  which  preserved  them  from  what  they 
chiefly  dreaded,  subjection  to  a  Dublin  Parliament  inspired 
by  clericalism  and  disloyalty  to  the  Empire. 

The  development  which  brought  about  the  change  from 
Ulster's  resolute  stand  for  unimpaired  union  with  Great 
Britain  to  her  reluctant  acceptance  of  a  separate  local 
constitution  for  the  predominantly  Protestant  portion  of 
the  Province,  presents  a  deeply  interesting  illustration  of 
the  truth  of  a  pregnant  dictum  of  Maine's  on  the  working 
of  democratic  institutions. 

"Democracies,"  he  says,  '*  are  quite  paralysed  by  the 
plea  of  nationality.  There  is  no  more  effective  way  of 
attacking  them  than  by  admitting  the  right  of  the  majority 


DEMOCRACY  AND   NATIONALITY  15 

to  govern,  but  denying  that  the  majority  so  entitled  is 
the  particular  majority  which  claims  the  right."  ^ 

This  is  precisely  what  occurred  in  regard  to  Ulster's 
relation  to  Great  Britain  and  to  the  rest  of  Ireland  respec- 
tively. The  will  of  the  majority  must  prevail,  certainly. 
But  what  majority  ?  Unionists  maintained  that  only  the 
majority  in  the  United  Kingdom  could  decide,  and  that  it 
had  never  in  fact  decided  in  favour  of  repealing  the  Act 
of  Union  ;  Lord  Rosebery  at  one  time  held  that  a  majority 
in  Great  Britain  alone,  as  the  "  Predominant  Partner," 
must  first  give  its  consent ;  Irish  Nationalists  argued  that 
the  majority  in  Ireland,  as  a  distinct  unit,  was  the  only 
one  that  should  count,  Ulster,  whilst  agreeing  with  the 
general  Unionist  position,  contended  ultimately  that  her 
own  majority  was  as  well  entitled  to  be  heard  in  regard 
to  her  own  fate  as  the  majority  in  Ireland  as  a  whole.  To 
the  Nationalist  claim  that  Ireland  was  a  nation  she  replied 
that  it  was  either  two  nations  or  none,  and  that  if  one  of 
the  two  had  a  right  to  "  self-determination,"  the  other  had 
it  equally.  Thus  the  axiom  of  democracy  that  government 
is  by  the  majority  was,  as  Maine  said,  "  paralysed  by  the 
plea  of  nationality,"  since  the  contending  parties  appealed 
to  the  same  principle  without  having  any  common  ground 
as  to  how  it  should  be  applied  to  the  case  in  dispute. 

If  the  Union  with  Great  Britain  was  to  be  abrogated, 
which  Pitt  had  only  established  when  "  a  full  measure  of 
Home  Rule  "  had  produced  a  bloody  insurrection  and 
Irish  collusion  with  England's  external  enemies,  Ulster 
could  at  all  events  in  the  last  resort  take  her  stand  on 
Abraham  Lincoln's  famous  proposition  which  created 
West  Virginia  :  "  A  minority  of  a  large  community  who 
make  certain  claims  for  self-government  cannot,  in  logic 
or  in  substance,  refuse  the  same  claims  to  a  much  larger 
proportionate  minority  among  themselves." 

The  Loyalists  of  Ulster  were  successful  in  holding  this 
second  line,  when  the  first  was  no  longer  tenable  ;  but 
they  only  retired  from  the  first  line — the  maintenance  of 
the  legislative  union— after  a  long  and  obstinate  defence 
which  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  following  pages  to  relate. 

^  Sir  S.  H.  Maine,  Popular  Government,  p.  28. 


CHAPTER    II 

THE   ELECTORATE    AND    HOME    RULE 

We  profess  to  be  a  democratic  country  in  which  the 
"  will  of  the  people  "  is  the  ultimate  authority  in  deter- 
mining questions  of  policy,  and  the  Liberal  Party  has 
been  accustomed  to  regard  itself  as  the  most  zealous 
guardian  of  democratic  principles.  Yet  there  is  this 
curious  paradox  in  relation  to  the  problem  which  more 
than  any  other  taxed  British  statesmanship  during  the 
thirty-five  years  immediately  following  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  the  rural  democracy  in  1884,  that  the  solution 
propounded  by  the  Liberal  Party,  and  inscribed  by  that 
party  on  the  Statute-book  in  1914,  was  more  than  once 
emphatically  rejected,  and  has  never  been  explicitly 
accepted  by  the  electorate. 

No  policy  ever  submitted  to  the  country  was  more 
decisively  condemned  at  the  polls  than  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Home  Rule  proposals  in  the  General  Election  of  1886. 
The  issue  then  for  the  first  time  submitted  to  the  people 
was  isolated  from  all  others  with  a  completeness  scarcely 
ever  practicable — a  circumstance  which  rendered  the 
"  mandate "  to  Parliament  to  maintain  the  legislative 
union  exceptionally  free  from  ambiguity.  The  party 
which  had  brought  forward  the  defeated  proposal,  although 
led  by  a  statesman  of  unrivalled  popularity,  authority,  and 
power,  was  shattered  in  the  attempt  to  carry  it,  and  lost 
the  support  of  numbers  of  its  most  conspicuous  adherents, 
including  Chamberlain,  Hartington,  Goschen,  and  John 
Bright,  besides  a  multitude  of  its  rank  and  file,  who  entered 
into  political  partnership  with  their  former  opponents  in 
order  to  withstand  the  new  departure  of  their  old  Chief. 

The  years  that  followed  were  a  period  of  preparation  by 
both  sides  for  the  next  battle.     The  improvement  in  the 

16 


GLADSTONE'S  POLICY  AND   INFLUENCE         17 

state  of  Ireland,  largely  the  result  of  legislation  carried 
by  Lord  Salisbury's  Government,  especially  that  which 
promoted  land  purchase,  encouraged  the  confidence  felt 
by  Unionists  that  the  British  voter  would  remain  staunch 
to  the  Union.  The  downfall  of  Parnell  in  1890,  followed 
by  the  break-up  of  his  party,  and  by  his  death  in  the 
following  year,  seemed  to  make  the  danger  of  Home  Rule 
still  more  remote.  The  only  disquieting  factor  was  the 
personality  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  which,  the  older  he  grew, 
exercised  a  more  and  more  incalculable  influence  on  the 
public  mind.  And  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  this 
personal  influence  that  made  him,  in  spite  of  his  policy, 
and  not  because  of  it.  Prime  Minister  for  the  fourth  time 
in  1892.  In  Great  Britain  the  electors  in  that  year 
pronounced  against  Home  Rule  again  by  a  considerable 
majority,  and  it  was  only  by  coalition  with  the  eighty-three 
Irish  Nationalist  Members  that  Gladstone  and  his  party 
were  able  to  scrape  up  a  majority  of  forty  in  support  of 
his  second  Home  Rule  Bill.  Whether  there  was  any 
ground  for  Gladstone's  belief  that  but  for  the  O'Shea 
divorce  he  would  have  had  a  three-figure  majority  in 
1892  is  of  little  consequence,  but  the  fall  of  his  own 
majority  in  Midlothian  from  4,000  to  below  700,  which 
caused  him  "  intense  chagrin,"  ^  does  not  lend  it  support. 
Lord  Morley  says  Gladstone  was  blamed  by  some  of  his 
friends  for  accepting  office  "  depending  on  a  majority  not 
large  enough  to  coerce  the  House  of  Lords  "  ^ ;  but  a 
more  valid  ground  of  censure  was  that  he  was  willing  to 
break  up  the  constitution  of  the  United  Kingdom,  although 
a  majority  of  British  electors  had  just  refused  to  sanction 
such  a  thing  being  done.  That  Gladstone's  colleagues 
realised  full  well  the  true  state  of  public  opinion  on  the 
subject,  if  he  himself  did  not,  was  shown  by  their  conduct 
when  the  Home  Rule  Bill,  after  being  carried  through  the 
House  of  Commons  by  diminutive  majorities,  was  rejected 
on  second  reading  by  the  Peers.  Even  their  great  leader's 
entreaty  could  not  persuade  them  to  consent  to  an  appeal 
to  the  people  ' ;    and  when  they  were  tripped  up  over  the 

1  Morley's  Lije  oj  Gladstone,  iii,  492, 
*  Ibid.,  493.  8  Ibid.,  505. 


18     THE  ELECTORATE  AND  HOME  RULE 

cordite  vote  in  1895,  after  Gladstone  had  disappeared 
from  public  life,  none  of  them  probably  were  surprised  at 
the  overwhelming  vote  by  which  the  constituencies 
endorsed  the  action  of  the  House  of  Lords,  and  pronounced 
for  the  second  time  in  ten  years  against  granting  Home 
Rule  to  Ireland. 

If  anything  except  the  personal  ascendancy  of  Gladstone 
contributed  to  his  small  coalition  majority  in  1892  it  was 
no  doubt  the  confidence  of  the  electors  that  the  House  of 
Lords  could  be  relied  upon  to  prevent  the  passage  of  a 
Home  Rule  Bill.  It  is  worth  noting  that  nearly  twenty 
years  later  Lord  Crewe  acknowledged  that  the  Home  Rule 
Bill  of  1893  could  not  have  stood  the  test  of  a  General 
Election  or  of  a  Referendum.* 

During  the  ten  years  of  Unionist  Government  from 
1895  to  1905  the  question  of  Home  Rule  slipped  into  the 
background.  Other  issues,  such  as  those  raised  by  the 
South  African  War  and  Mr.  Chamberlain's  tariff  policy, 
engrossed  the  public  mind.  English  Home  Rulers  showed 
a  disposition  to  hide  away,  if  not  to  repudiate  altogether, 
the  legacy  they  had  inherited  from  Gladstone.  Lord 
Rosebery  acknowledged  the  necessity  to  convert  "  the 
predominant  partner,"  a  mission  which  every  passing 
year  made  appear  a  more  hopeless  undertaking.  At  by- 
elections  Home  Rule  was  scarcely  mentioned.  In  the  eyes 
of  average  Englishmen  the  question  was  dead  and  buried, 
and  most  people  were  heartily  thankful  to  hear  no  more 
about  it.  Mr.  T.  M.  Healy's  caustic  wit  remarked  that 
"  Home  Rule  was  put  into  cold  storage."  * 

Then  came  the  great  overthrow  of  the  Unionists  in  1906. 
Home  Rule,  except  by  its  absence  from  Liberal  election 
addresses,  contributed  nothing  at  all  to  that  resounding 
Liberal  victory.  The  battle  of  "  terminological  inexacti- 
tudes "  rang  with  cries  of  Chinese  "  slavery,"  Tariff 
Reform,  Church  Schools,  Labour  Dispute  Bills,  and  so 
forth  ;  but  on  Ireland  silence  reigned  on  the  platforms  of 
the  victors.  The  event  was  to  give  the  successors  of  Mr. 
Gladstone  a  House  of  Commons  in  complete  subjection  to 

1  Annual  Register,  1910,  p.  240. 

*  See  Letters  to  Isabel,  by  Lord  Shaw  of  Dunfermline,  p.  130. 


REVIVING   NATIONALIST  HOPES  19 

them.  For  the  first  time  since  1885  they  had  a  majority 
independent  of  the  Nationahsts,  a  majority,  if  ever  there 
was  one,  "  large  enough  to  coerce  the  House  of  Lords,"  as 
they  would  have  done  in  1893,  according  to  Lord  Morley, 
if  they  had  had  the  power.  But  to  do  that  would  involve 
the  danger  of  having  again  to  appeal  to  the  country, 
which  even  at  this  high  tide  of  Liberal  triumph  they  could 
not  face  with  Home  Rule  as  an  election  cry.  So,  with  the 
tame  acquiescence  of  IMr.  Redmond  and  his  followers,  they 
spent  four  years  of  unparalleled  power  without  laying  a 
finger  on  Irish  Government,  a  course  which  was  rendered 
easy  for  them  by  the  fact  that,  on  their  own  admission, 
they  had  found  Ireland  in  a  more  peaceful,  prosperous, 
and  contented  condition  than  it  had  enjoyed  for  several 
generations.  Occasionally,  indeed,  as  was  necessary  to 
prevent  a  rupture  with  the  Nationalists,  some  perfunctory 
mention  of  Home  Rule  as  a  desideratum  of  the  future  was 
made  on  Ministerial  platforms — by  Mr.  Churchill,  for 
example,  at  Manchester  in  ]May  1909.  But  by  that  date 
even  the  contest  over  Tariff  Reform — which  had  raged 
without  intermission  for  six  years,  and  by  rending  the 
Unionist  Party  had  grievously  damaged  it  as  an  effective 
instrument  of  opposition — had  become  merged  in  the  more 
immediately  exciting  battle  of  the  Budget,  provoked  by 
Mr.  Lloyd  George's  financial  proposals  for  the  current 
year,  and  by  the  possibility  that  they  might  be  rejected 
by  the  House  of  Lords.  This  the  House  of  Lords  did,  on 
the  30th  of  November,  1909,  and  the  Prime  Minister  at 
once  announced  that  he  would  appeal  to  the  country 
without  delay. 

Such  a  turn  of  events  was  a  wonderful  windfall  for  the 
Irish  Nationalists,  beyond  what  the  most  sanguine  of  them 
can  ever  have  hoped  for.  The  rejection  of  a  money  Bill 
by  the  House  of  Lords  raised  a  democratic  blizzard,  the 
full  force  of  which  was  directed  against  the  constitutional 
power  of  veto  possessed  by  the  hereditary  Chamber  in 
relation  not  merely  to  money  Bills,  but  to  general  legis- 
lation. For  a  long  time  the  Liberal  Party  had  been 
threatening  that  part  of  the  Constitution  without  much 
effect.     Sixteen  years  had  passed  since  Mr.  Gladstone  in 


20     THE  ELECTORATE  AND  HOME  RULE 

his  last  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons  declared  that 
issue  must  be  joined  with  the  Peers  ;  but  the  emphatic 
endorsement  by  the  constituencies  in  1895  of  the  Lords' 
action  which  he  had  denounced,  followed  by  ten  years  of 
Unionist  Government,  damped  down  the  ardour  of  attack 
so  effectually  that,  during  the  four  years  in  which  the 
Liberals  enjoyed  unchallengeable  power,  from  1906  to 
1910,  they  did  nothing  to  carry  out  Gladstone's  parting 
injunction.  Had  they  done  so  at  any  time  when  Home 
Rule  was  a  living  issue  in  the  country  an  attack  on  the 
Lords  would  in  all  probability  have  proved  disastrous  to 
themselves.  For  there  was  not  a  particle  of  evidence  that 
the  electors  of  Great  Britain  had  changed  their  minds  on 
this  subject,  and  there  were  great  numbers  of  voters  in 
the  country — those  voters,  unattached  to  party,  who 
constitute  "  the  swing  of  the  pendulum,"  and  decide  the 
issue  at  General  Elections — who  felt  free  to  vote  Liberal 
in  1906  because  they  believed  Home  Rule  was  practically 
dead,  and  if  revived  would  be  again  given  its  quietus,  as 
in  1893,  by  the  House  of  Lords.  But  the  defeat  of  the 
Budget  in  November  1909  immediately  opened  a  line  of 
attack  wholly  unconnected  with  Ireland,  and  over  the 
most  favourable  ground  that  could  have  been  selected  for 
the  assault. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  skilful  than  the  tactics 
employed  by  the  Liberal  leaders.  Concentrating  on  the 
constitutional  question  raised  by  the  alleged  encroachment 
of  the  Lords  on  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  Commons  to 
grant  supply,  they  tried  to  excite  a  hurricane  of  popular 
fury  by  calling  on  the  electorate  to  decide  between  "  Peers 
and  People."  The  rejected  Finance  Bill  was  dubbed 
"  The  People's  Budget."  A  "  Budget  League  "  was 
formed  to  expatiate  through  the  constituencies  on  the 
democratic  character  of  its  provisions,  and  on  the  personal 
and  class  selfishness  of  the  Peers  in  throwing  it  out.  As 
little  as  possible  was  said  about  Ireland,  and  probably  not 
one  voter  in  ten  thousand  who  went  to  the  poll  in  January 
1910  ever  gave  a  thought  to  the  subject,  or  dreamed  that 
he  was  taking  part  in  reversing  the  popular  verdict  of 
1886  and  1895.     Afterwards,  when  it  was  complained  that 


THE   ELECTION   OF   JANUARY   1910  21 

an  election  so  conducted  had  provided  no  "  mandate  "  for 
Home  Rule,  it  was  found  that  in  the  course  of  a  long  speech 
delivered  by  Mr.  Asquith  at  the  Albert  Hall  on  the  10th 
of  December  there  was  a  sentence  in  which  the  Prime 
Minister  had  declared  that  "  the  Irish  problem  could  only 
be  solved  by  a  policy  which,  while  explicitly  safeguarding 
the  supreme  authority  of  the  Imperial  Parliament,  would 
set  up  self-government  in  Ireland  in  regard  to  Irish 
affairs."  The  rest  of  the  speech  dealt  with  Tariff  Reform 
and  with  the  constitutional  question  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  on  which  the  public  mind  was  focused  throughout 
the  election. 

In  the  unprecedented  deluge  of  oratory  that  flooded 
the  country  in  the  month  preceding  the  elections  the 
Prime  Minister's  sentence  on  Ireland  at  the  Albert  Hall 
passed  almost  unnoticed  in  English  and  Scottish  con- 
stituencies, or  was  quickly  lost  sight  of,  like  a  coin  in  a 
cornstack,  under  sheaves  of  rhetoric  about  the  dear  loaf 
and  the  intolerable  arrogance  of  hereditary  legislators. 
Here  and  there  a  Unionist  candidate  did  his  best  to  warn 
a  constituency  that  every  Liberal  vote  was  a  vote  for 
Home  Rule.  He  was  invariably  met  with  an  impatient 
retort  that  he  was  attempting  to  raise  a  bogey  to  divert 
attention  from  the  iniquity  of  the  Lords  and  the  Tariff 
Reformers.     Home  Rule,  he  was  told,  was  dead  and  buried. 

On  the  19th  of  January,  1910,  when  the  elections  were 
over  in  the  boroughs,  Mr.  Asquith  claimed  that  "  the 
great  industrial  centres  had  mainly  declared  for  Free 
Trade,"  and  the  impartial  chronicler  of  the  Annual  Register 
stated  that  "  the  Liberals  had  fought  on  Free  Trade  and 
the  constitutional  issue."  The  twice-repeated  decision  of 
the  country  against  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  was  therefore 
in  no  sense  reversed  by  the  General  Election  of  January 
1910. 

But  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  agitation  over  the 
Budget  and  the  action  of  the  House  of  Lords  in  relation 
to  it,  in  the  summer  of  1909,  the  gravity  of  the  situation 
so  created  was  fully  appreciated  by  both  political  parties 
in  Ireland  itself.  Only  the  most  languid  interest  was 
there  taken  in  the  questions  which  stirred  the  constitu- 


22     THE  ELECTORATE  AND  HOME  RULE 

encies  across  the  ChanneL  Neither  Nationalist  nor 
Unionist  cared  anything  whatever  for  Free  Trade  ;  neither 
of  them  shed  a  tear  over  the  rejected  Budget.  Indeed, 
Mr.  Lloyd  George's  new  taxes  were  so  unpopular  in  Ireland 
that  Mr.  Redmond  was  violently  attacked  by  Mr.  William 
O'Brien  and  Mr.  Healy  for  his  neglect  of  obvious  Irish 
interests  in  supporting  the  Government.  Mr.  Redmond, 
for  his  part,  made  no  pretence  that  his  support  was  given 
because  he  approved  of  the  proposals  for  which  he  and  his 
followers  gave  their  votes  in  every  division.  The  clauses 
of  the  Finance  Bill  were  trifles  in  his  eyes  that  did  not 
matter.  His  gaze  was  steadily  fixed  on  the  House  of 
Peers,  which  he  saw  before  him  as  a  huntsman  views  a 
fox  with  bedraggled  brush,  reduced  to  a  trot  a  field  or  two 
ahead  of  the  hounds.  That  House  was,  as  he  described  it, 
"  the  last  obstacle  to  Home  Rule,"  and  he  was  determined 
to  do  all  he  could  to  remove  the  obstacle.  Lord  Rosebery 
said  at  Glasgow  in  September  1909  that  he  believed 
Ministers  wanted  the  House  of  Lords  to  reject  the  Budget. 
Whether  they  did  or  not,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Mr. 
Redmond  did,  for  he  knew  that,  in  that  event,  the  whole 
strength  of  the  Liberal  Party  would  be  directed  to  the 
task  of  beating  down  the  "  last  obstacle,"  and  that  then 
it  would  be  possible  to  carry  Home  Rule  without  the 
British  constituencies  being  consulted.  It  was  with  this 
end  in  view  that  he  took  his  party  into  the  lobby  in 
support  of  a  Budget  that  was  detested  in  Ireland,  and 
threw  the  whole  weight  of  his  influence  in  British  con- 
stituencies on  to  the  Liberal  side  in  the  elections  of 
January  1910. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  torrent  of  class  prejudice  and 
democratic  passion  that  was  stirred  up  by  six  weeks  of 
Liberal  oratory,  the  result  of  the  elections  was  a  serious 
loss  of  strength  to  the  Government.  The  commanding 
Liberal  majority  of  1906  over  all  parties  in  the  House  of 
Commons  disappeared,  and  Mr.  Asquith  and  his  Cabinet 
were  once  more  dependent  on  a  coalition  of  Labour 
Members  and  Nationalists.  The  Liberals  by  themselves 
had  a  majority  of  two  only  over  the  Unionists,  who  had 
won    over   one    hundred    seats,   so  that  the  Nationalists 


ELECTIONEERING  TACTICS  23 

were  easily  in  a  position  to  enforce  their  leader's  threat  to 
make  Mr.  Asquith  "  toe  the  line." 

When  the  Parliament  elected  in  January  1910  assembled 
disputes  arose  between  the  Government  and  the  Nation- 
alists as  to  whether  priority  was  to  be  given  to  passing 
the  Budget  rejected  in  the  previous  session,  or  to  the 
Parliament  Bill  which  was  to  deprive  the  House  of  Lords 
of  its  constitutional  power  to  reject  legislation  passed  by 
the  Commons  ;  and  Mr.  Redmond  expressed  his  displeasure 
that  "  guarantees  "  had  not  yet  been  obtained  from  the 
King,  or,  in  plain  language,  that  a  promise  had  not  been 
extorted  from  the  Sovereign  that  he  would  be  prepared  to 
create  a  sufficient  number  of  Peers  to  secure  the  acceptance 
of  the  Parliament  Bill  by  the  Upper  House. 

The  whole  situation  was  suddenly  changed  by  the  death 
of  King  Edward  in  May  1910.  Consideration  for  the  new 
and  inexperienced  Sovereign  led  to  the  temporary  abandon- 
ment of  coercion  of  the  Crown,  and  resort  was  had  to  a 
Conference  of  party  leaders,  with  a  view  to  settlement  of 
the  dispute  by  agreement.  But  no  agreement  was  arrived 
at,  and  the  Conference  broke  up  on  the  10th  of  November. 
Parliament  was  again  dissolved  in  December,  "  on  the 
assumption,"  as  Lord  Crewe  stated,  "  that  the  House  of 
Lords  would  reject  the  Parliament  Bill." 

During  the  agitation  of  this  troubled  autumn  preceding 
the  General  Election,  the  question  of  Home  Rule  was  not 
quite  so  successfully  concealed  from  view  as  in  the 
previous  year.  The  Liberals,  indeed,  maintained  the 
same  tactical  reserve  on  the  subject,  alike  in  their  writings 
and  their  speeches.  The  Liberal  Press  of  the  period  may 
be  searched  in  vain  for  any  clear  indication  that  the 
electors  were  about  to  be  asked  to  decide  once  more  this 
momentous  constitutional  question.  Such  mention  of  it 
as  was  occasionally  to  be  found  in  ministerial  speeches 
seemed  designed  to  convey  the  idea  that,  while  the  door 
leading  to  Home  Rule  was  still  formally  open,  there  was 
no  immediate  prospect  of  its  being  brought  into  use.  The 
Prime  Minister  in  particular  did  everything  in  his  power 
to  direct  the  attention  of  the  country  to  the  same  issues 
as  in  the  preceding  January,  among  which  Ireland  had 
3 


24  THE   ELECTORATE   AND   HOME   RULE 

had  no  place.  In  presenting  the  Government's  case  at 
Hull  on  the  25th  of  November,  he  reminded  the  country 
that  in  the  January  elections  the  veto  of  the  Peers  was 
"  the  dominant  issue  "  ;  in  the  intervening  months  the 
Government,  he  said,  had  brought  forward  proposals  for 
dealing  with  the  veto,  and  had  given  the  Lords  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  proposals  of  their  own  ;  a  defeat  of  the 
Liberals  in  the  coming  elections  would  bring  in  "  Pro- 
tection  disguised  as  Tariff  Reform  "  ;  but  he  (Mr.  Asquith) 
preferred  to  concentrate  his  criticism  on  Lord  Lansdowne's 
"  crude  and  complex  scheme  "  for  Second  Chamber 
reform  ;  he  made  a  passing  mention  of  "  self-government 
for  Ireland  "  as  a  policy  that  would  have  the  sympathy 
of  the  Dominions,  but  added  that  "  the  immediate  task 
was  to  secure  fair  play  for  Liberal  legislation  and  popular 
government."  And  in  his  election  address  Mr.  Asquith 
declared  that  "  the  appeal  to  the  country  was  almost 
narrowed  to  a  single  issue,  and  on  its  determination  hung 
the  whole  future  of  democratic  Government." 

This  zeal  for  "  popular,"  or  "  democratic  "  government 
was,  however,  not  inconsistent  apparently  with  a  deter- 
mination to  avoid  at  all  hazards  consulting  the  will  of  the 
people,  before  doing  what  the  people  had  hitherto  always 
refused  to  sanction.  The  suggestion  had  been  made 
earlier  in  the  autumn  that  a  Referendum,  or  "  Poll  of  the 
People  "  might  be  taken  on  the  question  of  Home  Rule. 
The  very  idea  filled  the  Liberals  with  dismay.  Speaking 
at  Edinbm-gh  on  the  2nd  of  December,  Mr.  Lloyd  George, 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  made  the  curiously 
naive  admission,  for  a  "  democratic  "  politician,  that  the 
Referendum  would  amount  to  "a  prohibitive  tariff 
against  Liberalism."  A  few  days  earlier  at  Reading 
(November  29th)  his  Chief  sought  to  tm-n  the  edge  of 
this  disconcerting  proposal  by  asking  whether  the  Unionists, 
if  returned  to  power,  would  allow  Tariff  Reform  to  be 
settled  by  the  same  mode  of  appeal  to  the  country  ;  and 
when  Mr.  Balfour  promptly  accepted  the  challenge  by 
promising  that  he  would  do  so  Mr.  Asquith  retreated 
under  cover  of  the  excuse  that  no  bargain  had  been 
intended. 


MR.    ASQUITH'S   RETICENCE  25 

While  the  Liberal  leaders  were  thus  doing  all  they  could 
to  hold  down  the  lid  of  the  Home  Rule  Jack-in-the-box, 
the  Unionists  were  warning  the  country  that  as  soon  as 
Mr.  Asquith  secured  a  majority  his  thumb  would  release 
the  spring.  Speakers  from  Ulster  carried  the  warning 
into  many  constituencies,  but  it  was  noticed  that  they 
were  constantly  met  with  the  same  retort  as  in  January — 
that  Home  Rule  was  a  "  bogey,"  or  a  "  red  herring " 
dragged  across  the  trail  of  Tariff  Reform  and  the  Peers' 
veto  ;  and  it  is  a  significant  indication  of  the  straits  to 
which  the  Government  afterwards  felt  themselves  driven 
to  find  justification  for  dealing  with  so  fundamental  a 
question  as  the  repeal  of  the  Union  without  the  explicit 
approval  of  the  electorate,  that  they  devised  the  strange 
doctrine  that  speeches  by  their  opponents  provided  them 
with  a  mandate  for  a  policy  about  which  they  had  them- 
selves kept  silence,  even  although  those  speeches  had  been 
disbelieved  and  derided  on  the  very  ground  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  Ministers  to  bring  forward  a  policy  they 
had  not  laid  before  the  country  during  the  election. 

The  extent  to  which  this  ministerial  reserve  was  carried 
was  shown  by  a  question  put  to  ]Mr.  Asquith  in  his  own 
constituency  in  East  Fife  on  the  6th  of  December.  Scottish 
"  hecklers  "  are  intelligent  and  well  informed  on  current 
politics,  and  no  one  who  knows  them  can  imagine  one  of 
them  asking  the  Prime  Minister  whether  he  intended  to 
introduce  a  Home  Rule  Bill  if  Home  Rule  had  been  pro- 
claimed as  one  of  the  chief  items  in  the  policy  of  the 
Government.  Mr.  Asquith  gave  an  afiirmative  reply ; 
but  the  elections  were  by  this  time  half  over,  and  in  the 
following  week  ]Mr.  Balfour  laid  stress  on  the  fact  that 
five  hundred  contests  had  been  decided  before  any  jMinister 
had  mentioned  Home  Rule.  Even  after  giving  this 
memorable  answer  in  East  Fife  Mr.  Asquith,  speaking  at 
Bm-y  St.  Edmunds  on  the  12th  of  December,  declared  that 
"  the  sole  issue  at  that  moment  was  the  supremacy  of  the 
people,"  and  he  added,  in  deprecation  of  all  the  talk  about 
Ireland,  that  "  it  was  sought  to  confuse  this  issue  by 
catechising  Ministers  on  the  details  of  the  next  Home 
Rule  BiU." 


26  THE  ELECTORATE  AND   HOME   RULE 

Even  if  this  had  been,  as  it  was  not,  a  true  description 
of  the  attempts  that  had  been  made  to  extract  a  frank 
declaration  from  the  Government  as  to  their  intentions  in 
regard  to  this  vitally  important  matter — far  more  impor- 
tant to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  than  any  question 
of  Tariff,  or  of  limiting  the  functions  of  the  Second  Chamber 
— it  was  surely  a  curious  doctrine  to  be  propounded  by  a 
statesman  zealous  to  preserve  "  popular  government  "  ! 
There  had  been  two  Home  Rule  Bills  in  the  past,  differing 
one  from  the  other  in  not  a  few  important  respects  ; 
discussion  had  shown  that  many  even  of  those  who 
supported  the  principle  of  Home  Rule  objected  strongly 
to  this  or  that  proposal  for  embodying  it  in  legislation. 
Language  had  been  used  by  Mr.  Asquith  himself,  as  well 
as  by  some  of  his  principal  colleagues,  which  implied  that 
any  future  Home  Rule  Bill  would  be  part  of  a  general 
scheme  of  "  devolution,"  or  federation,  or  "  Home  Rule 
All  Round  " — a  solution  of  the  question  favoured  by 
many  who  hotly  opposed  separate  treatment  for  Ireland. 
Yet  here  was  the  responsible  Minister,  in  the  middle  of  a 
General  Election,  complaining  that  the  issue  was  being 
"  confused "  by  presumptuous  persons  who  wanted  to 
know  what  sort  of  Home  Rule,  if  any,  he  had  in  contem- 
plation in  the  event  of  obtaining  a  majority  sufficient  to 
keep  him  in  power. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  would  have  been  a  straining 
of  constitutional  principles,  and  a  flagrant  violation  of  the 
canons  of  that  "  democratic  government  "  of  which  Mr. 
Asquith  had  constituted  himself  the  champion,  to  pass  a 
Home  Rule  Bill  by  means  of  a  majority  so  obtained,  even 
if  the  majority  had  been  one  that  pointed  to  a  sweeping 
turnover  of  public  opinion  to  the  side  of  the  Government. 
The  elections  of  December  1910,  in  point  of  fact,  gave  no 
such  indication.  The  Government  gained  nothing  what- 
ever by  the  appeal  to  the  country.  Liberals  and  Unionists 
came  back  in  almost  precisely  the  same  strength  as  in  the 
previous  Parliament.  They  balanced  each  other  within 
a  couple  of  votes  in  the  new  House  of  Commons,  and  the 
Ministry  could  not  have  remained  twenty-four  hours  in  office 
except  in  coalition  with  Labour  and  the  Irish  Nationalists. 


THE   PARLIAMENT  ACT  27 

The  Parliament  so  elected  and  so  constituted  was 
destined  not  merely  to  destroy  the  effective  power  of  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  to  place  on  the  Statute-book  a 
measure  setting  up  an  Irish  Parliament  in  Dublin,  but  to 
be  an  assembly  longer  in  duration  and  more  memorable  in 
achievement  than  any  in  English  history  since  the  Long 
Parliament.  During  the  eight  years  of  its  reign  the 
Great  War  was  fought  and  won  ;  the  "  rebel  party  "  in 
Ireland  once  more,  as  in  the  Napoleonic  Wars,  broke  into 
armed  insurrection  in  league  with  the  enemies  of  England  ; 
and  before  it  was  dissolved  the  political  parties  in  Great 
Britain,  heartily  supported  by  the  Loyalists  of  Ulster, 
composed  the  party  differences  which  had  raged  with 
such  passion  over  Home  Rule  and  other  domestic  issues, 
and  joined  forces  in  patriotic  resistance  to  the  foreign 
enemy. 

But  before  this  transformation  took  place  nearly  four 
years  of  agitation  and  contest  had  to  run  their  course.  In 
the  first  session  of  the  Parliament,  by  a  violent  use  of  the 
Royal  Prerogative,  the  Parliament  Bill  became  law,  the 
Peers  accepting  the  measure  under  duress  of  the  threat 
that  some  four  or  five  hundred  peerages  would,  if  necessary, 
be  created  to  form  a  majority  to  carry  it.  It  was  then  no 
longer  possible  for  the  Upper  House  to  force  an  appeal  to 
the  country  on  Home  Rule,  as  it  had  done  in  1893.  All 
that  was  necessary  was  for  a  Bill  to  be  carried  in  three 
successive  sessions  through  the  House  of  Commons,  to 
become  law.  "  The  last  obstacle  to  Home  Rule,"  as  Mr. 
Redmond  called  it,  had  been  removed.  The  Liberal 
Government  had  taken  a  hint  from  the  procedure  of  the 
careful  burglar,  who  poisons  the  dog  before  breaking  into 
the  house. 

The  significance  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Irish 
question  had  been  kept  out  of  view  of  the  electorate  by 
the  Government  and  their  supporters  was  not  lost  upon 
the  people  of  Ulster.  In  January  1911,  within  a  month 
of  the  elections,  a  meeting  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council 
was  held  at  which  a  comprehensive  resolution  dealing 
with  the  situation  that  had  arisen  was  adopted,  and 
published  as  a  manifesto.     One  of  its  clauses  was  : 


28     THE  ELECTORATE  AND  HOME  RULE 

"  The  Council  has  observed  with  much  surprise  the 
singular  reticence  as  regards  Home  Rule  maintained  by  a 
large  number  of  Radical  candidates  in  England  and 
Scotland  during  the  recent  elections,  and  especially  by  the 
Prime  Minister  himself,  who  barely  referred  to  the  subject 
till  almost  the  close  of  his  own  contest.  In  view  of  the 
consequent  fact  that  Home  Rule  was  not  at  the  late  appeal 
to  the  country  placed  as  a  clear  issue  before  the  electors, 
it  is  the  judgment  of  the  Council  that  the  country  has 
given  no  mandate  for  Home  Rule,  and  that  any  attempt 
in  such  circumstances  to  force  through  Parliament  a 
measure  enacting  it  would  be  for  His  Majesty's  Ministers 
a  grave,  if  not  criminal,  breach  of  constitutional  duty." 

The  great  importance,  in  relation  to  the  policy  subse- 
quently pursued  by  Ulster,  of  the  historical  fact  here 
made  clear — namely,  that  the  "  will  of  the  people  "  con- 
stitutionally expressed  in  parliamentary  elections  has 
never  declared  itself  in  favour  of  granting  Home  Rule  to 
Ireland,  lies,  first,  in  the  justification  it  afforded  to  the 
preparations  for  active  resistance  to  a  measure  so  enacted  ; 
and,  secondly,  in  the  influence  it  had  in  procuring  for 
Ulster  not  merely  the  sympathy  but  the  open  support  of 
the  whole  Unionist  Party  in  Great  Britain.  Lord  London- 
derry, one  of  Ulster's  most  trusted  leaders,  who  afterwards 
gave  the  whole  weight  of  his  support  to  the  policy  of 
forcible  resistance,  admitted  in  the  House  of  Lords  in 
1911,  in  the  debates  on  the  Parliament  Bill,  that  the 
verdict  of  the  country,  if  appealed  to,  would  have  to  be 
accepted.  The  leader  of  the  Unionist  Party,  Mr.  Bonar 
Law,  made  it  clear  in  February  1914,  as  he  had  more  than 
once  stated  before,  that  the  support  he  and  his  party  were 
pledging  themselves  to  give  to  Ulster  in  the  struggle  then 
approaching  a  climax,  was  entirely  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  electorate  had  never  sanctioned  the  policy  of  the 
Government  against  which  Ulster's  resistance  was 
threatened.  The  chance  of  success  in  that  resistance 
"  depended,"  he  said,  "  upon  the  sympathy  of  the  British 
people,  and  an  election  would  undoubtedly  make  a  great 
difference  in  that  respect  "  ;  he  denied  that  Mr.  Asquith 
had  a  "  right  to  pass  any  form  of  Home  Rule  without  a 


LIBERALS  WITHOUT   A   MANDATE  29 

mandate  from  the  people  of  this  country,  which  he  has 
never  received  "  ;  and  he  categorically  announced  that 
"  if  you  get  the  decision  of  the  people  we  shall  obey  it." 
And  if,  as  then  appeared  likely,  the  unconstitutional 
conduct  of  the  Government  should  lead  to  bloodshed  in 
Ireland,  the  responsibility,  said  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  would  be 
theirs,  "  because  you  preferred  to  face  civil  war  rather 
than  face  the  people."  ^ 

^  Parliamentary  Debates  (5th  Series),  vol.  Iviii,  pp.  279-84. 


CHAPTER   III 

ORGANISATION   AND   LEADERSHIP 

From  the  day  when  Gladstone  first  made  Home  Rule  for 
Ireland  the  leading  issue  in  British  politics,  the  Loyalists 
of  Ulster — who,  as  already  explained,  included  practically 
all  the  Protestant  population  of  the  Province  both  Con- 
servative and  Liberal,  besides  a  small  number  of  Catholics 
who  had  no  separatist  sympathies — set  to  work  to  organise 
themselves  for  effective  opposition  to  the  new  policy.  In 
the  hour  of  their  dismay  over  Gladstone's  surrender 
Lord  Randolph  Churchill,  hurrying  from  London  to 
encourage  and  inspirit  them,  told  them  in  the  Ulster  Hall 
on  the  22nd  of  February,  1886,  that  "  the  Loyalists  in 
Ulster  should  wait  and  watch — organise  and  prepare."  ^ 
They  followed  his  advice.  Propaganda  among  themselves 
was  indeed  unnecessary,  for  no  one  required  conversion 
except  those  who  were  known  to  be  inconvertible.  The 
chief  work  to  be  done  was  to  send  speakers  to  British 
constituencies  ;  and  in  the  decade  from  1885  to  1895 
Ulster  speakers,  many  of  whom  were  ministers  of  the 
different  Protestant  Churches,  were  in  request  on  English 
and  Scottish  platforms. 

A  number  of  organisations  were  formed  for  this  purpose, 
some  of  which,  like  the  Irish  Unionist  Alliance,  represented 
Unionist  opinion  throughout  Ireland,  and  not  in  Ulster 
alone.  Others  were  exclusively  concerned  with  the 
northern  Province,  where  from  the  first  the  opposition  was 
naturally  more  concentrated  than  elsewhere.  In  the 
early  days,  the  Ulster  Loyalist  and  Patriotic  Union, 
organised  by  Lord  Ranfurly  and  Mr.  W.  R.  Young, 
carried  on  an  active  and  sustained  campaign  in  Great 
Britain,  and  the  Unionist  Clubs  initiated  by  Lord  Temple- 

1  Lord  Randolph  Churchill,  by  the  Right  Hon.  W.  S,  Churchill,  vol.  ii, 
p.  62. 

30 


RANDOLPH  CHURCHILL'S   INSPIRATION         31 

town  provided  a  useful  organisation  in  the  smaller  country 
towns,  which  still  exists  as  an  effective  force.  The  Loyal 
Orange  Institution,  founded  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  to  commemorate,  and  to  keep  alive  the  principles 
of,  the  Whig  Revolution  of  1688,  had  fallen  into  not 
unmerited  disrepute  prior  to  1886.  Few  men  of  education 
or  standing  belonged  to  it,  and  the  lodge  meetings  and 
anniversary  celebrations  had  become  little  better  than 
occasions  for  conviviality  wholly  inconsistent  with  the 
irreproachable  formularies  of  the  Order.  But  its  system 
of  local  Lodges,  affiliated  to  a  Grand  Lodge  in  each  county, 
supplied  the  ready-made  framework  of  an  effective  organ- 
isation. Immediately  after  the  introduction  of  Glad- 
stone's first  Bill  in  1886  it  received  an  immense  accession 
of  strength.  Large  numbers  of  country  gentlemen,  clergy- 
men of  all  Protestant  denominations,  business  and  profes- 
sional men,  farmers,  and  the  better  class  of  artisans  in 
Belfast  and  other  towns,  joined  the  local  Lodges,  the 
management  of  which  passed  into  capable  hands  ;  the 
character  of  the  Society  was  thereby  completely  and 
rapidly  transformed,  and,  instead  of  being  a  somewhat 
disreputable  and  obsolete  survival,  it  became  a  highly 
respectable  as  well  as  an  exceedingly  powerful  political 
organisation,  the  whole  weight  of  whose  influence  has  been 
on  the  side  of  the  Union. 

A  rallying  cry  was  given  to  the  Ulster  Loyalists  in  the 
famous  phrase  contained  in  a  letter  from  Lord  Randolph 
Churchill  to  a  correspondent  in  May  1886  :  "  Ulster  will 
fight,  and  Ulster  will  be  right."  From  this  time  forward 
the  idea  that  resort  to  physical  resistance  would  be  prefer- 
able to  submission  to  a  Parliament  in  Dublin  controlled 
by  the  "  rebel  party  "  took  hold  of  the  popular  mind  in 
Ulster,  although  after  the  elections  of  1886  there  was  no 
serious  apprehension  that  the  necessity  would  arise,  until 
the  return  to  power  of  Mr.  Gladstone  at  the  head  of  a 
small  majority  in  1892  brought  about  a  fresh  crisis. 

The  work  of  organisation  was  then  undertaken  with 
greater  energy  and  thoroughness  than  before.  It  was 
now  that  Lord  Templetown  founded  the  Unionist  Clubs, 
which  spread  in  an  affiliated  network  through  Ulster,  and 


32  ORGANISATION  AND   LEADERSHIP 

proved  so  valuable  that,  after  falling  into  neglect  during 
the  ten  years  of  Conservative  Government,  they  were 
revived  at  the  special  request  of  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council  in  December  1910.  Nothing,  however,  did  so 
much  to  stimulate  organisation  and  concentration  of  effort 
as  the  great  Convention  held  in  Belfast  on  the  19th  of 
June  1892,  representing  on  a  democratic  basis  all  the  con- 
stituencies in  Ulster.  Numerous  preliminary  meetings 
were  arranged  for  the  purpose  of  electing  the  delegates ; 
and  of  these  the  Special  Correspondent  of  The  Times  wrote  : 

"  Nothing  has  struck  me  more  in  the  present  movement 
than  the  perfect  order  and  regularity  with  which  the 
preliminary  meetings  for  the  election  of  delegates  has 
been  conducted.  From  city  and  town  and  village  come 
reports  of  crowded  and  enthusiastic  gatherings,  all  animated 
by  an  equal  ardour,  all  marked  by  the  same  spirit  of  quiet 
determination.  There  has  been  no  '  tall  talk,'  no  over- 
statement ;  the  speeches  have  been  dignified,  sensible,  and 
practical.  One  of  the  most  marked  features  in  the  meet- 
ings has  been  the  appearance  of  men  who  have  never 
before  taken  part  in  public  life,  who  have  never  till  now 
stood  on  a  public  platform.  Now  for  the  first  time  they 
have  broken  with  the  tranquil  traditions  of  a  lifetime,  and 
have  come  forward  to  take  their  share  and  their  responsi- 
bility in  the  grave  danger  which  threatens  their  country."  * 

There  being  no  building  large  enough  to  hold  the 
delegates,  numbering  nearly  twelve  thousand,  every  one 
of  whom  was  a  registered  voter  appointed  by  the  polling 
districts  to  attend  the  Convention,  a  pavilion,  the  largest 
ever  used  for  a  political  meeting  in  the  kingdom,  was 
specially  constructed  close  to  the  Botanical  Gardens  in 
Belfast.  It  covered  33,000  square  feet,  and,  owing  to  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  workmen  employed  on  the  building,  it 
was  erected  (at  a  cost  of  over  £3,000)  within  three  weeks. 
It  provided  seating  accommodation  for  13,000  people, 
but  the  number  who  actually  gained  admittance  to  the 
Convention  was  nearly  21,000,  while  outside  an  assemblage, 
estimated  by  the  correspondent  of  The  Times  at  300,000, 
was  also  addressed  by  the  principal  speakers. 

1  The  Times,  June  16th,  1892. 


THE   ULSTER   CONVENTION  33 

The  commencement  of  the  proceedings  with  prayer, 
conducted  by  the  Primate  of  all  Ireland  and  the  Moderator 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  set  a  precedent  which  was 
extensively  followed  in  later  years  throughout  Ulster, 
marking  the  spirit  of  seriousness  which  struck  numerous 
observers  as  characteristic  of  the  Ulster  Movement.  The 
speakers  were  men  representative  of  all  the  varied  interests 
of  the  Province— religious,  agricultural,  commercial,  and 
industrial — and  among  them  were  two  men,  Mr.  Thomas 
Sinclair  and  Mr.  Thomas  Andrews,  who  had  been  life-long 
Liberals,  but  who  from  this  time  forward  were  dis- 
tinguished and  trusted  leaders  of  Unionist  opinion  in 
Ulster.  It  was  Mr.  Andrews  who  touched  a  chord  that 
vibrated  through  the  vast  audience,  making  them  leap  to 
their  feet,  cheering  for  several  minutes.  "As  a  last 
resource,"  he  cried,  "  we  will  be  prepared  to  defend  our- 
selves." But  the  climax  of  this  memorable  assembly  was 
reached  when  the  chairman,  the  Duke  of  Abercorn,  with 
upraised  arm,  and  calling  on  the  audience  solemnly  to 
repeat  the  words  one  by  one  after  him,  gave  out  what 
became  for  the  future  the  motto  and  watchword  of  Ulster 
loyalty :  "  We  will  not  have  Home  Rule."  It  was  felt 
that  this  simple  negation  constituted  a  solemn  vow  taken 
by  the  delegates,  both  for  themselves  and  for  those  they 
represented — an  act  of  self-dedication  to  which  every  loyal 
man  and  woman  in  Ulster  was  committed,  and  from  which 
there  could  be  no  turning  back. 

The  principal  Resolution,  adopted  unanimously  by  the 
Convention,  formulated  the  grounds  on  which  the  people 
of  the  Province  based  their  hostility  to  the  separatist 
policy  of  Home  Rule  ;  and  as  frequent  reference  was  made 
to  it  in  after-years  as  an  authoritative  definition  of  Ulster 
policy,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  recall  its  terms  : 

"That  this  Convention,  consisting  of  11,879  delegates 
representing  the  Unionists  of  every  creed,  class,  and  party 
throughout  Ulster,  appointed  at  public  meetings  held  in 
every  electoral  division  of  the  Province,  hereby  solemnly 
resolves  and  declares :  '  That  we  express  the  devoted 
loyalty  of  Ulster  Unionists  to  the  Crown  and  Constitution 
of  the  United  Kingdom  ;    that  we  avow  our  fixed  resolve 


34  ORGANISATION  AND   LEADERSHIP 

to  retain  unchanged  our  present  position  as  an  integral 
portion  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and  protest  in  the  most 
unequivocal  manner  against  the  passage  of  any  measure 
that  "would  rob  us  of  our  inheritance  in  the  Imperial 
Parliament,  under  the  protection  of  which  our  capital  has 
been  invested  and  our  homes  and  rights  safeguarded ; 
that  we  record  our  determination  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  a  Parliament  certain  to  be  controlled  by  men  respon- 
sible for  the  crime  and  outrages  of  the  Land  League,  the 
dishonesty  of  the  Plan  of  Campaign,  and  the  cruelties  of 
boycotting,  many  of  whom  have  shown  themselves  the 
ready  instruments  of  clerical  domination  ;  that  we  declare 
to  the  people  of  Great  Britain  our  conviction  that  the 
attempt  to  set  up  such  a  Parliament  in  Ireland  will 
inevitably  result  in  disorder,  violence,  and  bloodshed, 
such  as  have  not  been  experienced  in  this  century,  and 
announce  our  resolve  to  take  no  part  in  the  election  or 
proceedings  of  such  a  Parliament,  the  authority  of  which, 
should  it  ever  be  constituted,  we  shall  be  forced  to 
repudiate  ;  that  we  protest  against  this  great  question, 
which  involves  our  lives,  property,  and  civil  rights,  being 
treated  as  a  mere  side-issue  in  the  impending  electoral 
struggle  ;  that  w^e  appeal  to  those  of  our  fellow  country- 
men who  have  hitherto  been  in  favour  of  a  separate 
Parliament  to  abandon  a  demand  which  hopelessly  divides 
Irishjnen,  and  to  unite  wdth  us  under  the  Imperial  Legis- 
lature in  developing  the  resources  and  furthering  the  best 
interests  of  our  common  country.'  " 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Ulster  Convention  of 
1892,  and  the  numerous  less  imposing  demonstrations 
which  followed  on  both  sides  of  the  Channel  and  took 
their  tone  from  it,  of  which  the  most  notable  was  the 
great  meeting  at  the  Albert  Hall  in  London  on  the  22nd 
of  April,  1893,  had  much  effect  in  impressing  and  instruct- 
ing public  opinion,  and  thus  preparing  the  way  for  the 
smashing  defeat  of  the  Liberal  Home  Rule  Party  in  the 
General  Election  of  1895.  After  that  event  vigilance 
again  relaxed  during  the  ten  years  of  Unionist  predomi- 
nance which  followed.  But  the  organisation  was  kept 
intact,  and  its  democratic  method  of  appointing  delegates 
in  every  polling  district  provided  a  permanent  electoral 
machinery  for  the  Unionist  Party  in  the  constituencies, 


THE  ULSTER  UNIONIST  COUNCIL  35 

as  well  as  the  framework  for  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council, 
which  was  brought  into  existence  in  1905,  largely  through 
the  efforts  of  Mr.  William  Moore,  M.P.  for  North  Armagh. 
This  Council,  with  its  executive  Standing  Committee,  was 
thenceforward  the  acknowledged  authority  for  deter- 
mining all  questions  of  Unionist  policy  in  Ulster. 

Its  first  meeting  was  held  on  the  3rd  of  March,  1905, 

under  the  presidency  of  Colonel  James  McCalmont,  M.P. 

for  East  Antrim.     The  first  ten  members  of  the  Standing 

Committee  were  nominated  by  Colonel  Saunderson,  M.P., 

as  chairman  of  the  Ulster  Parliamentary  Party.      They 

were,  in  addition  to  the  chairman  himself,  the  Duke  of 

Abercorn,  the  I\Iarquis  of  Londonderry,  the  Earl  of  Erne, 

the  Earl  of  Ranfurly,  Colonel  James  McCalmont,  M.P., 

the  Hon.  R.  T.  CNeill,  M.P.,  Mr.  G.  Wolff,  M.P.,  Mr.  J.  B. 

Lonsdale,    M.P.,    and    Mr.    William    Moore,    K.C.,    M.P. 

These   nominations   were   confirmed   by   a   ballot   of  the 

members  of  the  Council,  and  twenty  other  members  were 

elected  forthwith  to  form  the  Standing  Committee.     This 

first  Executive  Committee  of  the  organisation  which  for 

the  next  fifteen  years  directed  the  policy  of  Ulster  Unionism 

included  several  names  that  %vere  from  this  time  forward 

among   the    most    prominent    in   the    movement.     There 

were  the  two  eminent  Liberals,  INIr.  Thomas  Sinclair  and 

Mr.  Thomas  Andrews,  and  Mr.  John  Young,  all  three  of 

whom  were  members  of  the  Irish  Privy  Council ;    Colonel 

R.  H.  Wallace,  C.B.,  j\Ir.  W.  H.  H.  Lyons,  and  Sir  James 

Stronge,   leaders   of  the   Orangemen  ;     Colonel   Sharman- 

Crawford,  Mr.  E.  IM.  Archdale,  Mr.  W.  J.  Allen,  Mr.  R.  H. 

Reade,  and  Sir  William  Ewart.     Among  several  "  Unionist 

candidates  for  Ulster    constituencies  '*  who  were  at  the 

same  meeting  co-opted  to  the  Comicil,  we  find  the  names 

of  Captain  James  Craig  and  Mr.  Denis  Henry,  K.C.      The 

Duke  of  Abercorn  accepted  the  position  of  President  of 

the  Council,  and  Mr.  E.  M.  Archdale  was  elected  chairman 

of    the    Standing    Committee.     Mr.    T.    H.    Gibson    was 

appointed  secretary.     In  October  1906  the  latter  resigned 

his  post  owing  to  failing  health,  and,  on  the  motion  of 

Mr.   Wilhara  Moore,   M.P.,  Mr.   Richard  Dawson   Bates, 

a    solicitor    practising    in    Belfast,    was     "  temporarily " 


36  ORGANISATION   AND   LEADERSHIP 

appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  This  temporary  appoint- 
ment was  never  formally  made  permanent,  but  no  question 
in  regard  to  the  secretaryship  was  ever  raised,  for  Mr. 
Bates  performed  the  duties  year  after  year  to  the  complete 
satisfaction  of  everyone  connected  with  the  organisation, 
and  in  a  manner  that  earned  the  gratitude  of  all  Ulster 
Unionists.  The  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  Council  in 
1906  only  enabled  a  salary  of  £100  a  year  to  be  paid  to 
the  secretary — a  salary  that  was  purely  nominal  in  the 
case  of  a  professional  gentleman  of  Mr.  Bates's  standing  ; 
but  the  spirit  in  which  he  took  up  his  duties  was  seen  two 
years  later,  when  it  was  found  that  out  of  this  salary  he 
had  himself  been  paying  for  clerical  assistance  ;  and  then, 
of  course,  this  matter  was  properly  adjusted,  which  the 
improved  financial  position  of  the  Council  happily  rendered 
possible. 

The  declared  purpose  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  was 
to  form  a  union  of  all  local  Unionist  Associations  in  Ulster  ; 
to  keep  the  latter  in  constant  touch  with  their  parliamen- 
tary representatives  ;  and  "  to  be  the  medium  of  expressing 
Ulster  Unionist  opinion  as  current  events  may  from  time 
to  time  require."  It  consisted  at  first  of  not  more  than 
200  members,  of  whom  100  represented  local  Associations, 
and  50  represented  the  Orange  Lodges,  the  remaining 
50  being  made  up  of  Ulster  members  of  both  Houses  of 
Parliament  and  of  certain  "  distinguished  residents  in  or 
natives  of  Ulster  "  to  be  co-opted  by  the  Council.  As 
time  went  on  the  Council  was  considerably  enlarged,  and 
its  representative  character  improved.  In  1911  the  elected 
membership  was  raised  to  370,  and  included  representa- 
tives of  local  Associations,  Orange  Lodges,  Unionist  Clubs, 
and  the  Derry  Apprentice  Boys.  In  1918  representatives 
of  the  Women's  Associations  were  added,  and  the  total 
elected  membership  was  increased  to  432.  The  delegates 
elected  by  the  various  constituent  bodies  were  in  the  fullest 
sense  representative  men ;  they  were  drawn  from  all  classes 
of  the  population ;  and,  by  the  regularity  with  which  they 
attended  meetings  of  the  Council  whenever  business  of  any 
importance  was  to  be  transacted,  they  made  it  the  most 
effective  political  organisation  in  the  United  Kingdom. 


THE   ZEAL   OF  THE  WOMEN  37 

A  campaign  of  public  meetings  in  England  and  Scotland 
conducted  jointly  by  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  and  the 
Irish  Unionist  Alliance  in  1908  led  to  a  scheme  of  co- 
operation between  the  two  bodies,  the  one  representing 
Unionists  in  the  North  and  the  other  those  in  the  southern 
Provinces,  which  worked  smoothly  and  effectively.  A 
joint  Committee  of  the  Unionist  Associations  of  Ireland 
was  therefore  formed  in  the  same  year,  the  organisations 
represented  on  it  being  the  two  already  named  and  the 
Ulster  Loyalist  Anti-Repeal  Union.  The  latter,  which  in 
earlier  years  had  done  excellent  spade-work  under  the 
fostering  zeal  of  Lord  Ranfurly  and  Mr.  William  Robert 
Young,  was  before  1911  amalgamated  with  the  Unionist 
Council,  so  that  all  rivalry  and  overlapping  was  thence- 
forward eliminated  from  the  organisation  of  Unionism  in 
Ulster.  The  Council  in  the  North  and  the  Irish  Unionist 
Alliance  in  Dublin  worked  in  complete  harmony  both 
with  each  other  and  with  the  Union  Defence  League  in 
London,  whose  operations  were  carried  on  under  the 
direction  of  its  founder,  Mr.  Walter  Long. 

The  women  of  Ulster  were  scarcely  less  active  than  the 
men  in  the  matter  of  organisation.  Although,  of  course, 
as  yet  unenfranchised,  they  took  as  a  rule  a  keener  interest 
in  political  matters — meaning  thereby  the  one  absorbing 
question  of  the  Union — than  their  sex  in  other  parts  of 
the  United  Kingdom.  When  critical  times  for  the  Union 
arrived  there  was,  therefore,  no  apathy  to  be  overcome 
by  the  Protestant  women  in  Ulster.  Early  in  1911  the 
"  Ulster  Women's  Unionist  Council  "  was  formed  under 
the  presidency  of  the  Duchess  of  Abercorn,  and  very 
quickly  became  a  most  effective  organisation  side  by 
side  with  that  of  the  men.  The  leading  spirit  was  the 
Marchioness  of  Londonderry,  but  that  it  was  no  aristo- 
cratic affair  of  titled  ladies  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  within  twelve  months  of  its  formation  between  forty 
and  fifty  thousand  members  were  enrolled.  A  branch  in 
Mr.  Devlin's  constituency  of  W^est  Belfast,  which  over  four 
thousand  women  joined  in  its  first  month  of  existence,  of 
whom  over  80  per  cent,  were  mill- workers  and  shop-girls  in 
the  district,  held  a  very  effective  demonstration  on  the 


38  ORGAXISATIOX  AND   LE.\DERSHIP 

11th  of  January,  1912,  at  which  Mr.  Thomas  Sinclair,  the 
most  universally  respected  of  Belfast's  business  men,  made 
one  of  liis  many  telling  speeches  which  familiarised  the 
people  with  the  commercial  and  financial  aspects  of  Home 
Rule,  as  it  would  be  felt  in  Ulster.  The  central  Women's 
Council  followed  this  up  with  a  more  imposing  gathering 
in  the  Ulster  Hall  on  the  18th,  which  adopted  ^^^th  intense 
enthusiasm  the  declaration :  "  We  will  stand  by  our 
husbands,  our  brothers,  and  our  sons,  in  whatever  steps 
they  may  be  forced  to  take  in  defending  our  liberties 
against  the  t}Tanny  of  Home  Rule." 

Thus  before  the  end  of  1911  men  and  women  alike  were 
firmly  organised  in  Ulster  for  the  support  of  their  loyalist 
principles.  But  the  most  effective  organisation  is  impotent 
without  leadership.  Among  the  declared  "  objects  "  of 
the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  was  that  of  acting  "  as  a 
connecting  link  between  Ulster  Unionists  and  their  par- 
Hamentary  representatives."  In  the  House  of  Commons 
the  Ulster  Unionist  3Iembers,  although  they  recognised 
Colonel  Edward  Saunderson,  M.P.,  as  their  leader  until 
his  death  in  1906,  did  not  during  his  lifetime,  or  for  some 
years  afterwards,  constitute  a  separate  party  or  group. 
When  Colonel  Saunderson  died  the  Right  Hon.  Walter 
Long,  who  had  held  the  office  of  Chief  Secretary  in  the 
last  year  of  the  Unionist  Administration,  and  who  had 
been  elected  for  South  Dublin  in  1906,  became  leader  of 
the  Irish  Unionists — with  whom  those  representing  Ulster 
constituencies  were  included.  But  in  the  elections  of 
January  1910  Mr.  Long  was  returned  for  a  London  seat, 
and  it  therefore  became  necessary  for  Irish  LTnionists  to 
select  another  leader. 

By  this  time  the  Home  Rule  question  had,  as  the  people 
of  Lester  perceived,  become  once  more  a  matter  of  \'ital 
urgency,  although,  as  explained  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
the  electors  of  Great  Britain  were  too  engrossed  by  other 
matters  to  give  it  a  thought,  and  the  Liberal  Ministers 
were  doing  ever^iihing  in  their  power  to  keep  it  in  the 
background.  The  Lister  Members  of  the  House  of 
Conmions  realised,  therefore,  the  grave  importance  of 
finding  a  leader  of  the  calibre  necessary  for  dealing  on 


INVITATION   TO   SIR   E.   CARSON  39 

equal  terms  with  such  orators  and  Parhamentarians  as 
Mr,  Asquith  and  Mr.  John  Redmond.  They  did  not 
deceive  themselves  into  thinking  that  such  a  leader  was 
to  be  found  among  their  own  number.  They  could  produce 
several  capable  speakers,  and  men  of  judgment  and  good 
sense  ;  but  something  more  was  needed  for  the  critical 
times  they  saw  ahead.  After  careful  consideration,  they 
took  a  step  which  in  the  event  proved  to  be  of  momentous 
importance,  and  of  extreme  good  fortune,  for  the  enter- 
prise that  the  immediate  future  had  in  store  for  them.  Mr. 
J.  B.  Lonsdale,  Member  for  Mid  Armagh,  Hon.  Secretary 
of  the  Irish  Unionist  Parliamentary  Party,  was  deputed  to 
request  Sir  Edward  Carson,  K.C.,  to  accept  the  leadership 
of  the  Irish  Unionist  party  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

Several  days  elapsed  before  they  received  an  answer  ; 
but  when  it  came  it  was,  happily  for  Ulster,  an  acceptance. 
It  is  easy  to  understand  Sir  Edward  Carson's  hesitation 
before  consenting  to  assume  the  leadership.  After  carrying 
all  before  him  in  the  Irish  Courts,  where  he  had  been  Law 
Officer  of  the  Cro^Ti,  he  had  migrated  to  London,  where 
he  had  been  Solicitor-General  during  the  last  six  years  of 
the  Unionist  Administration,  and  by  1910  had  attained  a 
position  of  supremacy  at  the  English  Bar,  with  the  certain 
prospect  of  the  highest  legal  advancement,  and  with  an 
extremely  lucrative  practice,  which  his  family  circum- 
stances made  it  no  light  matter  for  him  to  sacrifice,  but 
which  he  knew  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  retain 
in  conjunction  w4th  the  political  duties  he  was  now  urged 
to  undertake.  Although  only  in  his  fifty-seventh  year,  he 
was  never  one  of  those  who  feel  younger  than  their  age ; 
nor  did  he  minimise  in  his  own  mind  the  disability  caused 
by  his  too  frequent  physical  ailments,  which  inclined  him 
to  shrink  from  embarking  upon  fresh  work  the  extent  and 
natm'e  of  which  could  not  be  exactly  foreseen.  As  to  am- 
bition, there  are  few  men  who  ever  were  less  moved  by  it, 
but  he  could  not  leave  altogether  out  of  consideration  his 
firm  conviction — which  ultimately  proved  to  have  been  ill- 
founded — -that  acceptance  of  the  Ulster  leadership  would 
cut  him  off  from  all  promotion,  whether  political  or  legal. -^ 

^  He  expressed  this  con\"iction  to  the  author  in  1911. 

4 


40  ORGANISATION   AND   LEADERSHIP 

Moreover,  although  for  the  moment  it  was  the  leader- 
ship of  a  parliamentary  group  to  which  he  was  formally- 
invited,  it  was  obvious  that  much  more  was  really  involved  ; 
the  people  in  Ulster  itself  needed  guidance  in  the  crisis 
that  was  visibly  approaching.  Ever  since  Lord  Randolph 
Churchill,  with  the  concurrence  of  Lord  Salisbury,  first 
inspired  them  in  1886  with  the  spirit  of  resistance  in  the 
last  resort  to  being  placed  under  a  Dublin  Parliament,  and 
assured  them  of  British  sympathy  and  support  if  driven 
to  that  extremity,  the  determination  of  Ulster  in  this 
respect  was  known  to  all  who  had  any  familiarity  with 
the  temper  of  her  people.  Any  man  who  undertook  to 
lead  them  at  such  a  juncture  as  had  been  reached  in  1910 
must  make  that  determination  the  starting-point  of  his 
policy.  It  was  a  task  that  would  require  not  only  states- 
manship, but  political  courage  of  a  high  order.  Lord 
Randolph  Churchill,  in  his  famous  Ulster  Hall  speech,  had 
said  that  "  no  portentous  change  such  as  the  repeal  of  the 
Union,  no  change  so  gigantic,  could  be  accomplished  by 
the  mere  passing  of  a  law ;  the  history  of  the  United 
States  will  teach  us  a  different  lesson."  Ulster  always 
took  her  stand  on  the  American  precedent,  though  the 
exemplar  was  Lincoln  rather  than  Washington.  But 
although  the  scale  of  operations  was,  of  course,  infinitely 
smaller,  the  Ulster  leader  would,  if  it  came  to  the  worst, 
be  confronted  by  certain  difficulties  from  which  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  free.  He  might  have  to  follow  the  example 
of  the  latter  in  forcibly  resisting  secession,  but  his  legal 
position  would  be  very  different.  He  might  be  called 
upon  to  resist  technically  legal  authority,  whereas  Lincoln 
had  it  at  his  back.  To  guide  and  control  a  headstrong 
people,  smarting  under  a  sense  of  betrayal,  when  entering 
on  a  movement  pregnant  with  these  issues,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  stand  up  against  a  powerful  Government  on 
the  floor  of  the  House  of  Commons,  was  an  enterprise  upon 
which  any  far-seeing  man  might  well  hesitate  to  embark. 

Pondering  over  the  invitation  conveyed  to  him  in  his 
Chambers  in  the  Temple,  Carson  may,  therefore,  well  have 
asked  himself  what  inducement  there  was  for  him  to 
accept  it.     He  was  not  an  Ulsterman.     As  a  Southerner 


CARSON   BECOMES   LEADER  41 

he  was  not  familiar  with  the  psychology  of  the  northern 
Irish ;  the  sectarian  narrowness  popularly  attributed  to 
them  outside  their  province  was  wholly  alien  to  his 
character  ;  he  was  as  far  removed  by  nature  from  a  fire- 
eater  as  it  was  possible  for  man  to  be  ;  he  was  not  fond 
of  unnecessary  exertion ;  he  preferred  the  law  to  politics, 
and  disliked  addressing  political  assemblies.  In  Parlia- 
ment he  represented,  not  a  popular  constituency,  but  the 
University  of  Dublin.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  he  was  to 
the  innermost  core  of  his  nature  an  Irish  Loyalist.  His 
youthful  political  sympathies  had,  indeed,  been  with  the 
Liberal  Party,  but  he  instantly  severed  his  connection  with 
it  when  Gladstone  joined  hands  with  Parnell.  He  had 
made  his  name  at  the  Irish  Bar  as  Crown  Prosecutor  in 
the  troubled  period  of  Mr.  Balfour's  Chief  Secretaryship, 
and  this  experience  had  bred  in  him  a  hearty  detestation 
of  the  whining  sentimentality,  the  tawdry  and  exaggerated 
rhetoric,  and  the  manufactured  discontent  that  found 
vent  in  Nationalist  politics.  A  sincere  lover  of  Ireland, 
he  had  too  much  sound  sense  to  credit  the  notion  that 
either  the  freedom  or  the  prosperity  of  the  country  would 
be  increased  by  loosening  the  tie  with  Great  Britain. 
Although  he  as  yet  knew  little  of  Ulster,  he  admired  her 
resolute  stand  for  the  Union,  her  passionate  loyalty  to 
the  Crown  ;  he  watched  with  disgust  the  way  in  which 
her  defences  were  being  sapped  by  the  Liberal  Party  in 
England  ;  and  the  thought  that  such  a  people  were  perhaps 
on  the  eve  of  being  driven  into  subjection  to  the  men  whose 
character  he  had  had  so  much  opportunity  to  gauge  in  the 
days  of  the  Land  League  filled  him  with  indignation. 

If,  therefore,  he  could  be  of  service  in  helping  to  avert 
so  great  a  wrong  Sir  Edward  Carson  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  would  be  shirking  a  call  of  duty  were  he  to 
decline  the  leadership  that  had  been  offered  him.  Realising 
to  the  full  all  that  it  meant  for  himself — inevitable  sacrifice 
of  income,  of  ease,  of  chances  of  promotion,  a  burden  of 
responsibility,  a  probability  of  danger — he  gave  his 
consent ;  and  the  day  he  gave  it — the  21st  of  February, 
1910 — should  be  marked  for  all  time  as  a  red-letter  day 
in  the  Ulster  calendar. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   PARLIAMENT   ACT  :     CRAIGAVON 

A  GOOD  many  months  were  to  elapse  before  the  Unionist 
rank  and  file  in  Ulster  were  brought  into  close  personal 
touch  with  the  new  leader  of  the  Irish  Unionist  Parlia- 
mentary Party.  The  work  to  be  done  in  1910  lay  chiefly 
in  London,  where  the  constitutional  struggle  arising  out 
of  the  rejection  of  the  "  People's  Budget  "  was  raging. 
But  shortly  before  the  General  Election  of  December  a 
demonstration  was  held  in  the  Ulster  Hall  in  Belfast,  in 
the  hope  of  opening  the  eyes  of  the  English  and  Scottish 
electors  to  the  danger  of  Home  Rule.  Mr.  Walter  Long 
was  the  principal  speaker,  and  Sir  Edward  Carson,  in 
supporting  the  resolution,  ended  his  speech  by  quoting 
Lord  Randolph  Churchill's  famous  jingling  phrase, 
"  Ulster  will  fight,  and  Ulster  will  be  right." 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1911,  when  the  elections  were 
over,  he  went  over  from  London  to  preside  at  an  important 
meeting  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council.  The  Annual 
Report  of  the  Standing  Committee,  in  welcoming  his 
succession  to  Mr.  Long  in  the  leadership,  spoke  of  his 
requiring  no  introduction  to  Ulstermen  ;  and  it  is  true 
that  he  had  occasionally  spoken  at  meetings  in  Belfast, 
and  that  his  recent  speech  in  the  Ulster  Hall  had  made  an 
excellent  impression.  But  he  was  not  yet  a  really  familiar 
figure  even  in  Belfast,  while  outside  the  city  he  was 
practically  unknown,  except  of  course  by  repute.  That 
a  man  of  his  sagacity  would  quickly  make  his  weight  felt 
was  never  in  doubt ;  but  few  at  that  time  can  have 
anticipated  the  extent  to  which  a  stranger — with  an 
accent  proclaiming  an  origin  south  of  the  Boyne — was  in 
a  short  time  to  captivate  the  hearts,  and  become  literally 
the  idolised  leader,  of  the  Ulster  democracy. 

For  the  latter  are  a  people  who  certainly  do  not  wear 

42 


1911]       LORD   LONDONDERRY'S   POPULARITY  43 

their  hearts  on  their  sleeves  for  daws  to  peck  at.  In  the 
eyes  of  the  more  volatile  southern  Celts  they  seem  a 
"  dour  "  people.  They  are  naturally  reserved,  laconic  of 
speech,  without  "  gush,"  far  from  lavish  in  compliment, 
slow  to  commit  themselves  or  to  give  their  confidence 
without  good  and  proved  reason. 

Opportunity  for  the  populace  to  get  into  closer  touch 
with  the  leader  did  not,  however,  come  till  the  autumn. 
He  was  unable  to  attend  the  Orange  celebration  on  the 
12th  of  July,  when  the  anniversary,  which  preceded  by 
less  than  a  month  the  "  removal  of  the  last  obstacle  to 
Home  Rule  "  by  the  passing  of  the  Parliament  Act,  was 
kept  with  more  than  the  usual  fervour,  and  the  speeches 
proved  that  the  gravity  of  the  situation  was  fully  appre- 
ciated. The  Marquis  of  Londonderry,  addressing  an 
immense  concourse  of  Belfast  Lodges,  stated  that  it  was 
the  first  time  an  Ex-Viceroy  had  been  present  at  an  Orange 
gathering,  but  that  he  had  deliberately  created  the 
precedent  owing  to  his  sense  of  the  danger  threatening  the 
Loyalist  cause. 

It  was  the  first  of  innumerable  similar  actions  by  which 
Lord  Londonderry  identified  himself  whole-heartedly  with 
the  popular  movement,  throwing  aside  all  the  conven- 
tional restraints  of  rank  and  wealth,  and  thereby  endearing 
himself  to  every  man  and  woman  in  Protestant  Ulster. 
There  was  no  more  familiar  figure  in  the  streets  of  Belfast. 
Barefooted  street  urchins,  catching  sight  of  him  on  the 
steps  of  the  Ulster  Club,  would  gather  round  and,  with 
free-and-easy  familiarity,  shout  "  Three  cheers  for  London- 
derry." He  knew  everybody  and  was  everybody's  friend. 
There  was  no  aristocratic  hauteur  or  aloofness  about  his 
genial  personality.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  entertaining 
the  whole  Unionist  Council,  some  five  hundred  strong,  at 
luncheon  or  dinner  as  the  occasion  required,  when  impor- 
tant meetings  of  the  delegates  took  place.  Distinguished 
political  visitors  from  England  could  always  be  invited  over 
without  thought  for  their  entertainment,  since  a  welcome 
at  Mount  Stewart  was  never  wanting.  His  financial  sup- 
port of  the  political  movement  was  equally  open-handed. 

But,  helpful  as  were  his  hospitality  and  his  subscriptions, 


44  THE   PARLIAMENT   ACT:     CRAIGAVON 

it  was  the  countenance  and  support  of  a  man  who  had 
held  high  Cabinet  office,  and  especially  the  great  position 
of  Viceroy  of  Ireland,  that  made  Lord  Londonderry's  full 
participation  an  asset  of  incalculable  value  to  the  cause 
he  espoused.  Moreover,  while  he  was  always  ready  to 
cross  the  Channel,  even  if  for  a  few  hours  only,  when 
wanted  for  any  conference  or  public  meeting,  never 
pleading  his  innumerable  social  and  political  engagements 
in  London  or  the  North  of  England  as  an  excuse  for  absence, 
his  natural  modesty  of  character  made  it  easy  for  him  to 
act  under  the  leadership  of  another.  Indeed,  he  under- 
rated his  own  abilities  ;  but  there  are  probably  not  many 
men  of  his  prominence  and  antecedents  who,  if  similarly 
placed,  would  have  been  able  to  give,  without  a  trace  of 
amour -propre,  to  a  leader  who  had  in  former  years  been 
his  own  official  subordinate,  the  consistently  loyal  backing 
that  Lord  Londonderry  gave  to  Sir  Edward  Carson. 

But,  although  there  never  was  the  slightest  friction 
between  the  two  men,  a  difference  of  opinion  between 
them  on  an  important  point  showed  itself  within  a  few 
months  of  Carson's  acceptance  of  the  leadership.  In 
July  1911  the  excitement  over  the  Parliament  Bill  reached 
its  climax.  When  the  Government  announced  that  the 
King  had  given  his  assent  to  the  creation  of  whatever 
number  of  peerages  might  be  required  for  carrying  the 
measure  through  the  Upper  House,  the  party  known  as 
"  Die  Hards  "  were  for  rejecting  it  and  taking  the  conse- 
quences ;  while  against  this  policy  were  ranged  Lord 
Lansdowne,  Lord  Curzon,  and  other  Unionist  leaders,  who 
advocated  the  acceptance  of  the  Bill  under  protest.  On 
the  20th  of  July  Carson  told  Lansdowne  that  in  his 
judgment  "  the  disgrace  and  ignominy  of  surrender  on 
the  question  far  outweighed  any  temporary  advantage  " 
to  be  gained  by  the  two  years'  delay  of  Home  Rule  which 
the  Parliament  Bill  would  secure.^  Lord  Londonderry, 
on  the  other  hand,  supported  the  view  taken  by  Lord 
Lansdowne,  and  he  voted  with  the  majority  who  carried 
the  Bill  on  the  10th  of  August.  This  step  temporarily 
clouded  his  popularity  in  Ulster,  but  not  many  weeks 

^  Annual  Register,  1911,  p.  175. 


1911]        THE   "  LAST   OBSTACLE  "   REMOVED  45 

passed  before  he  completely  regained  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  the  people,  and  the  difference  of  opinion  never 
in  the  smallest  degree  interrupted  the  harmony  of  his 
relations  with  Sir  Edward  Carson. 

The  true  position  of  affairs  in  relation  to  Home  Rule 
had  not  yet  been  grasped  by  the  British  public.  As 
explained  in  a  former  chapter,  it  had  not  been  in  any  real 
sense  an  issue  in  the  two  General  Elections  of  the  previous 
year,  and  throughout  the  spring  and  summer  of  1911 
popular  interest  in  England  and  Scotland  was  still  wholly 
occupied  with  the  fight  between  "  Peers  and  People  "  and 
the  impending  blow  to  the  power  of  the  Second  Chamber  ; 
and  the  coronation  festivities  also  helped  to  divert  attention 
from  the  political  consequences  to  which  the  authors  of 
the  Parliament  Bill  intended  it  to  lead. 

The  first  real  awakening  was  brought  about  by  an 
immense  demonstration  held  at  Craigavon,  on  the  outskirts 
of  Belfast,  on  the  23rd  of  September.  The  main  purpose 
of  this  historic  gathering  was  to  bring  the  populace  of 
Ulster  face  to  face  with  their  new  leader,  and  to  give 
him  an  opportunity  of  making  a  definite  pronouncement  of 
a  policy  for  Ulster,  in  view  of  the  entirely  novel  situation 
resulting  from  the  passing  of  the  Parliament  Act. 

For  that  Act  made  it  possible  for  the  first  time  for  the 
Liberal  Home  Rule  Party  to  repeal  the  Act  of  Union 
without  an  appeal  to  the  country.  It  enacted  that  any 
Bill  which  in  three  successive  sessions  was  passed  without 
substantial  alteration  through  the  House  of  Commons 
might  be  presented  for  the  Royal  Assent  without  the 
consent  of  the  Lords  ;  and  an  amendment  to  exclude  a 
Home  Rule  Bill  from  its  operation  had  been  successfully 
resisted  by  the  Government.  It  also  reduced  the  maximum 
legal  duration  of  a  Parliament  from  seven  to  five  years  ; 
but  the  existing  Parliament  was  still  in  its  first  session, 
and  there  was  therefore  ample  time,  under  the  provisions 
of  the  new  Constitution,  to  pass  a  Home  Rule  Bill  before 
the  next  General  Election,  as  the  coalition  of  parties  in 
favour  of  Home  Rule  constituted  a  substantial  majority 
in  the  House  of  Commons. 

The  question,  therefore,  which  the  Ulster  people  had 


46     THE  PARLIAMENT  ACT:  CRAIGAVON 

now  to  decide  was  no  longer  simply  how  they  could  bring 
about  the  rejection  of  a  Home  Rule  Bill  by  propaganda 
in  the  British  constituencies,  as  they  had  hitherto  done 
with  unfailing  success,  although  that  object  was  still  kept 
in  view,  but  what  course  they  should  adopt  if  a  Home 
Rule  Act  should  be  placed  on  the  Statute-book  without 
those  constituencies  being  consulted.  Was  the  day  at 
last  approaching  when  Lord  Randolph  Churchill's  exhorta- 
tion must  be  obeyed  ?  Or  were  they  to  be  compelled, 
because  the  Cabinet  had  coerced  the  Sovereign  and 
tricked  the  people  by  straining  the  royal  prerogative  in 
a  manner  described  by  Mr.  Balfour  as  "  a  gross  violation 
of  constitutional  liberty,"  to  submit  with  resignation  to 
the  government  of  their  country  by  the  "  rebel  party  " — 
the  party  controlled  by  clerical  influence,  and  boasting  of 
the  identity  of  its  aims  with  those  of  Wolfe  Tone  and 
Robert  Emmet  ?  This  was  the  real  problem  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  flocked  to  Craigavon  on  Saturday,  the  23rd 
of  September,  1911,  to  hear  what  proposals  Sir  Edward 
Carson  had  to  lay  before  his  followers. 

Craigavon  was  the  residence  of  Captain  James  Craig, 
Member  of  Parliament  for  East  Down.  It  is  a  spacious 
country  house  standing  on  a  hill  above  the  road  leading 
from  Belfast  to  Holywood,  with  a  fine  view  of  Belfast 
Lough  and  the  distant  Antrim  coast  beyond  the  estuary. 
The  lawn  in  front  of  the  house,  sloping  steeply  to  the 
shore  road,  forms  a  sort  of  natural  amphitheatre  offering 
ideal  conditions  for  out-of-door  oratory  to  an  unlimited 
audience.  At  the  meeting  on  the  23rd  of  September  the 
platform  was  erected  near  the  crest  of  the  hill,  enabling 
the  vast  audience  to  spread  out  fan-wise  over  the  lower 
levels,  where  even  the  most  distant  had  the  speakers 
clearly  in  view,  even  if  many  of  them,  owing  to  the  size  of 
the  gathering,  were  unable  to  hear  the  spoken  word. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Captain  Craig,  by  the  care 
with  which  every  minute  detail  of  the  arrangements  was 
thought  out  and  provided  for,  first  gave  evidence  of  his 
remarkable  gift  for  organisation  that  was  to  prove  so 
invaluable  to  the  Ulster  cause  in  the  next  few  years.  The 
greater  part  of  the  audience  arrived  in  procession,  which. 


1911 J  AN   IMPRESSIVE   SCENE  47 

starting  from  the  centre  of  the  city  of  Belfast,  took  over 
two  hours  to  pass  a  given  point,  at  the  quick  march  in 
fours.  All  the  Belfast  Orange  Lodges,  and  representative 
detachments  from  the  County  Grand  Lodges,  together 
with  Lord  Templetown's  Unionist  Clubs,  and  other 
organisations,  including  the  Women's  Association,  took 
part  in  the  procession.  But  immense  numbers  of  people 
attended  the  meeting  independently  ;  it  was  calculated 
that  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  were  present  during 
the  delivery  of  Sir  Edward  Carson's  speech,  and  although 
there  must  have  been  very  many  of  them  who  could  hear 
nothing,  the  complete  silence  maintained  by  all  was  a 
remarkable  proof — or  so  it  appeared  to  men  experienced 
in  out-door  political  demonstrations — of  the  earnestness  of 
spirit  that  prevailed.  To  some  it  may  appear  still  more 
remarkable  that,  with  such  a  concourse  of  people  within 
a  couple  of  miles  of  Belfast,  not  a  single  policeman  was 
present,  and  that  none  was  required  ;  no  disturbance  of 
any  sort  occurred  during  the  day,  nor  was  a  single  case 
of  drunkenness  observed. 

It  had  been  intended  that  the  Duke  of  Abercorn,  whose 
inspiring  exhortation  as  chairman  of  the  Ulster  Convention 
in  1892  had  never  been  forgotten,  should  preside  over  the 
meeting ;    but,  as  he  was  prevented  by  a  family  bereave- 
ment from  being  present,  his  place  was  taken  by  the  Earl 
of  Erne,  Grand  Master  of  the  Orange  Order.     The  scene, 
when  he  rose  to  open  the  proceedings,  was  indescribable 
in  its  impressiveness.     Some  members  of  the  Eighty  Club 
happened  to  be  in  Ireland  at  the  time,  for  the  purpose  of 
"  seeing  for  themselves  "  in  the  familiar  fashion  of  such 
political  tourists  ;    but  they  did  not  think  it  worth  while 
to  witness  what  Ulster  was  doing  at  Craigavon.     If  they 
had,  they  could  have  made  a  report  to  their  political 
leaders  which,  had  it  been  truthful,  might  have  averted 
some  irreparable  blunders  ;    for  they  could  hardly  have 
looked  upon  that  sea  of  eager  faces,  or  have  observed  the 
enthusiasm  that   possessed   such  a  host  of  earnest   and 
resolute  men,  without  revising  the  opinion,  which  they 
had  accepted  from   Mr.  Redmond,  that   there  was  "  no 
Ulster  question." 


48  THE   PARLIAMENT   ACT:     CRAIGAVON 

The  meeting  took  the  form  of  according  a  welcome  to 
Sir  Edward  Carson  as  the  new  leader  of  Irish  Loyalism, 
and  of  Ulster  in  particular.  But  before  he  rose  to  speak 
a  significant  note  had  already  been  sounded.  Lord  Erne 
struck  it  when  he  quoted  words  which  were  to  become 
very  familiar  in  Ulster — the  letter  from  Gustavus  Hamilton, 
Governor  of  Enniskillen  in  1689,  to  "  divers  of  the  nobility 
and  gentry  in  the  north-east  part  of  Ulster,"  in  which 
he  declared  :  "  We  stand  upon  our  guard,  and  do  resolve 
by  the  blessing  of  God  to  meet  our  danger  rather  than 
to  await  it."  And  the  veteran  Liberal,  Mr.  Thomas 
Andrews,  in  moving  the  resolution  of  welcome  to  the 
leader,  expressed  the  universal  sentiment  of  the  multitude 
when  he  exclaimed,  "  We  will  never,  never  bow  the  knee 
to  the  disloyal  factions  led  by  Mr.  John  Redmond.  We 
will  never  submit  to  be  governed  by  rebels  who  acknow- 
ledge no  law  but  the  laws  of  the  Land  League  and  illegal 
societies." 

A  great  number  of  Addresses  from  representative  organ- 
isations were  then  presented  to  Sir  Edward  Carson,  in 
many  of  which  the  determination  to  resist  the  jurisdiction 
of  a  Dublin  Parliament  was  plainly  declared.  But  such 
declarations,  although  they  undoubtedly  expressed  the 
mind  of  the  people,  were  after  all  in  quite  general  terms. 
For  a  quarter  of  a  century  innumerable  variations  on  the 
theme  "  Lester  will  fight,  and  Ulster  will  be  right,"  had 
been  fiddled  on  Ulster  platforms,  so  that  there  was  some 
excuse  for  the  belief  of  those  who  were  wholly  ignorant 
of  North  Irish  character  that  these  utterances  were  no 
more  than  the  commonplaces  of  Ulster  rhetoric.  The 
time  had  only  now  come,  however,  when  their  reality 
could  be  put  to  the  test.  Carson's  speech  at  Craigavon 
crystallised  them  into  practical  politics. 

Sir  Edward  Carson's  public  speaking  has  always  been 
entirely  free  from  rhetorical  artifice.  He  seldom  made 
use  of  metaphor  or  imagery,  or  elaborate  periods,  or 
variety  of  gesture.  His  language  was  extremely  simple 
and  straightforward ;  but  his  mobile  expression — so 
variable  that  his  enemies  saw  in  it  a  suggestion  of 
Mephistopheles,  and  his  friends  a  resemblance  to  Dante — 


1911]  CARSON'S   STYLE   OF   ORATORY  49 

his  measured  diction,  and  his  skilful  use  of  a  deep-toned 
voice,  gave  a  remarkable  impressiveness  to  all  he  said — 
even,  indeed,  to  utterances  which,  if  spoken  by  another, 
would  sometimes  have  sounded  commonplace  or  obvious. 
Sarcasm  he  could  use  with  effect,  and  a  telling  point  was 
often  made  by  an  epigrammatic  phrase  which  delighted 
his  hearers.  And,  more  than  all  else,  his  meaning  was 
never  in  doubt.  In  lucidity  of  statement  he  excelled  many 
much  greater  orators,  and  was  surpassed  by  none  ;  and  these 
qualities,  added  to  his  unmistakable  sincerity  and  candour, 
made  him  one  of  the  most  persuasive  of  speakers  on  the 
platform,  as  he  was  also,  of  course,  in  the  Law  Courts. 

The  moment  he  began  to  speak  at  Craigavon  the 
immense  multitude  who  had  come  to  welcome  him  felt 
instinctively  the  grip  of  his  power.  The  contrast  to  all 
the  previous  scene — the  cheering,  the  enthusiasm,  the 
marching,  the  singing,  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  and 
flags — was  deeply  impressive,  when,  after  a  hushed  pause 
of  some  length,  he  called  attention  without  preface  to 
the  realities  of  the  situation  in  a  few  simple  sentences  of 
slow  and  almost  solemn  utterance  : 

"  I  know  full  well  what  the  Resolution  you  have  just 
passed  means  ;  I  know  what  all  these  Addresses  mean  ;  I 
know  the  responsibility  you  are  putting  upon  me  to-day. 
In  your  presence  I  cheerfully  accept  it,  grave  as  it  is,  and 
I  now  enter  into  a  compact  with  you,  and  every  one  of 
you,  and  with  the  help  of  God  you  and  I  joined  together — 
I  giving  you  the  best  I  can,  and  you  giving  me  all  your 
strength  behind  me — we  will  yet  defeat  the  most  nefarious 
conspiracy  that  has  ever  been  hatched  against  a  free 
people.  But  I  know  full  well  that  this  Resolution  has  a 
still  wider  meaning.  It  shows  me  that  you  realise  the 
gravity  of  the  situation  that  is  before  us,  and  it  shows  me 
that  you  are  here  to  express  your  determination  to  see 
this  fight  out  to  a  finish." 

He  w^ent  on  to  expose  the  hollowness  of  the  allegation, 
then  current  in  Liberal  circles,  that  Ulster's  repugnance  to 
Home  Rule  was  less  uncompromising  than  it  formerly  had 
been.  On  the  contrary,  he  believed  that  "  there  never 
was  a  moment  at  which  men  were  more  resolved  than  at 


50  THE  PARLIAMENT  ACT:    CRAIGAVON 

the  present,  with  all  the  force  and  strength  that  God  has 
given  them,  to  maintain  the  British  connection  and  their 
rights  as  citizens  of  the  United  Kingdom."  Apart  from 
principle  or  sentiment,  that  was  an  attitude,  he  maintained, 
dictated  by  practical  good  sense.  He  showed  how  Ireland 
had  been  "  advancing  in  prosperity  in  an  unparalleled 
measure,"  for  which  he  could  quote  the  authority  of  Mr. 
Redmond  himself,  although  the  Nationalist  leader  had 
omitted  to  notice  that  this  advance  had  taken  place  under 
the  legislative  Union,  and,  as  Carson  contended,  in  conse- 
quence of  it.  He  laid  special  emphasis  on  the  point,  never 
forgotten,  that  the  danger  in  which  they  stood  was  due 
to  the  hoodwinking  of  the  British  constituencies  by  Mr. 
Asquith's  Ministry. 

"  Make  no  mistake  ;  we  are  going  to  fight  with  men 
who  are  prepared  to  play  with  loaded  dice.  They  are 
prepared  to  destroy  their  own  Constitution,  so  that  they 
may  pass  Home  Rule,  and  they  are  prepared  to  destroy 
the  very  elements  of  constitutional  government  by  with- 
drawing the  question  from  the  electorate,  who  on  two 
previous  occasions  refused  to  be  a  party  to  it." 

He  ridiculed  the  "  paper  safeguards  "  which  Liberal 
Ministers  tried  to  persuade  them  would  amply  protect 
Ulster  Protestants  under  a  Dublin  Parliament,  giving  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  plight  they  would  be  in  under  a  Nationalist 
administration,  which,  he  declared,  meant  "  a  tyranny  to 
which  we  never  can  and  never  will  submit  "  ;  and  then, 
in  a  pregnant  passage,  he  summarised  the  Ulster  case  : 

"  Our  demand  is  a  very  simple  one.  We  ask  for  no 
privileges,  but  we  are  determined  that  no  one  shall  have 
privileges  over  us.  We  ask  for  no  special  rights,  but 
we  claim  the  same  rights  from  the  same  Government  as 
every  other  part  of  the  United  Kingdom.  We  ask  for 
nothing  more ;  we  will  take  nothing  less.  It  is  our 
inalienable  right  as  citizens  of  the  British  Empire,  and 
Heaven  help  the  men  who  try  to  take  it  from  us." 

It  was  all  no  doubt  a  mere  restatement — though  an 
admirably  lucid  and  forcible  restatement — of  doctrine 
with  which  his  hearers  had  long  been  familiar.  The  great 
question  still  awaited  an  answer — how  was  effect  to  be 


1911]  A  DECLARATION   OF   POLICY  51 

given  to  this  resolve,  now  that  there  was  no  longer  hope 
of  salvation  through  the  sympathy  and  support  of  public 
opinion  in  Great  Britain  ?  This  was  what  the  eager 
listeners  at  Craigavon  hoped  in  hushed  expectancy  to  hear 
from  their  new  leader.     He  did  not  disappoint  them  : 

"  Mr.  Asquith,  the  Prime  INIinister,  says  that  we  are  not 
to  be  allowed  to  put  our  case  before  the  British  electorate. 
Very  well.  By  that  determination  he  drives  you  in  the 
ultimate  result  to  rely  upon  your  own  strength,  and  we 
must  follow  all  that  out  to  its  logical  conclusion.  .  .  .  That 
involves  something  more  than  that  we  do  not  accept 
Home  Rule.  We  must  be  prepared,  in  the  event  of  a 
Home  Rule  Bill  passing,  with  such  measures  as  will  carry 
on  for  ourselves  the  government  of  those  districts  of 
which  we  have  control.  We  must  be  prepared — and  time 
is  precious  in  these  things — the  morning  Home  Rule 
passes,  ourselves  to  become  responsible  for  the  government 
of  the  Protestant  Province  of  Ulster.  We  ask  your  leave 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council,  to  be  held 
on  Monday,  there  to  discuss  the  matter,  and  to  set  to 
work,  to  take  care  that  at  no  time  and  at  no  intervening 
interval  shall  we  lack  a  Government  in  Ulster,  which 
shall  be  a  Government  either  by  the  Imperial  Parliament, 
or  by  ourselves." 

Here,  then,  was  the  first  authoritative  declaration  of  a 
definite  policy  to  be  pursued  by  Ulster  in  the  circum- 
stances then  existing  or  foreseen,  and  it  was  a  policy  that 
was  followed  with  undeviating  consistency  under  Carson's 
leadership  for  the  next  nine  years.  To  be  left  under  the 
government  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  was  the  alternative 
to  be  preferred,  and  was  asserted  to  be  an  inalienable 
right ;  but,  if  all  their  efforts  to  that  end  should  be  defeated, 
then  "  a  government  by  ourselves  "  was  the  only  change 
that  could  be  tolerated.  Rather  than  submit  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  Nationalist  legislature  and  administra- 
tion, they  would  themselves  set  up  a  Government  "  in 
those  districts  of  which  they  had  control.''^  It  was  because, 
when  the  first  of  these  alternatives  had  to  be  sorrowfully 
abandoned,  the  second  was  offered  in  the  Government  of 
Ireland  Act  of  1920  that  Ulster  did  not  actively  oppose 
the  passing  of  that  statute. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CRAIGAVON  POLICY  AND  THE  U.F.V. 

No  time  was  lost  in  giving  practical  shape  to  the  policy 
outlined  at  Craigavon,  and  in  taking  steps  to  give  effect 
to  it.  On  the  25th  of  September  a  meeting  of  four  hundred 
delegates  representing  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council,  the 
County  Grand  Orange  Lodges,  and  the  Unionist  Clubs, 
was  held  in  Belfast,  and,  after  lengthy  discussion  in  private, 
when  the  only  differences  of  opinion  were  as  to  the  most 
effective  methods  of  proceeding,  two  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted  and  published.  It  is  noteworthy 
that,  at  this  early  stage  in  the  movement,  out  of  nearly 
four  hundred  popularly  elected  delegates,  numbers  of 
whom  were  men  holding  responsible  positions  or  engaged 
in  commercial  business,  not  one  raised  an  objection  to  the 
policy  itself,  although  its  grave  possibilities  were  thoroughly 
appreciated  by  all  present.  Both  Lord  Londonderry, 
who  presided,  and  Sir  Edward  Carson  left  no  room  for 
doubt  in  that  respect ;  the  developments  they  might  be 
called  upon  to  face  were  thoroughly  searched  and  explained, 
and  the  fullest  opportunity  to  draw  back  was  offered  to 
any  present  who  might  shrink  from  going  on. 

The  first  Resolution  registered  a  "  call  upon  our 
leaders  to  take  any  steps  they  may  consider  necessary  to 
resist  the  establishment  of  Home  Rule  in  Ireland,  solemnly 
pledging  ourselves  that  under  no  conditions  shall  we 
acknowledge  any  such  Government  "  ;  and  it  gave  an 
assurance  that  those  whom  the  delegates  represented 
would  give  the  leaders  "  their  unwavering  support  in  any 
danger  they  may  be  called  upon  to  face."  The  second 
decided  that  "  the  time  has  now  come  when  we  consider 
it  our  imperative  duty  to  make  arrangements  for  the 
provisional  government  of  Ulster,"  and  for  that  purpose 

52 


1911]  A    SILLY   SLANDER  58 

it  went  on  to  appoint  a  Commission  of  five  leading  local 
men,  namely,  Captain  James  Craig,  M.P.,  Colonel  Sharman 
Crawford,  M.P.,  the  Right  Hon.  Thomas  Sinclair,  Colonel 
R.  H.  Wallace,  C.B.,  and  Mr.  Edward  Sclater,  Secretary 
of  the  Unionist  Clubs,  whose  duties  were  (a)  "  to  keep  Sir 
Edward  Carson  in  constant  and  close  touch  with  the 
feeling  of  Unionist  Ulster,"  and  (b)  "  to  take  immediate 
steps,  in  consultation  with  Sir  Edward  Carson,  to  frame 
and  submit  a  Constitution  for  a  Provisional  Government 
of  Ulster,  having  due  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  Loyalists 
in  other  parts  of  Ireland  :  the  powers  and  duration  of  such 
Provisional  Government  to  come  into  operation  on  the 
day  of  the  passage  of  any  Home  Rule  Bill,  to  remain  in 
force  until  Ulster  shall  again  resume  unimpaired  her 
citizenship  in  the  United  Kingdom." 

At  the  Luncheon  given  by  Lord  Londonderry  after  this 
business  conference,  Carson  took  occasion  to  refer  to  a 
particularly  contemptible  slander  to  which  currency  had 
been  given  some  days  previously  by  Sir  John  Benn,  one 
of  the  Eighty  Club  strolling  seekers  after  truth.  It  was 
perhaps  hardly  worth  while  to  notice  a  statement  so  silly 
as  that  the  Ulster  leader  had  been  ready  a  few  weeks 
previously  to  betray  Ulster  in  order  to  save  the  House  of 
Lords,  but  Carson  did  not  yet  realise  the  degree  to  which 
he  had  already  won  the  confidence  of  his  followers  ;  more- 
over, the  incident  proved  useful  as  an  opportunity  of 
emphasising  the  uninterrupted  mutual  confidence  between 
Lord  Londonderry  and  himself,  in  spite  of  their  divergence 
of  opinion  over  the  Parliament  Bill.  It  also  gave  those 
present  a  glimpse  of  their  leader's  power  of  shrivelling 
meanness  with  a  few  caustic  drops  of  scorn. 

The  proceedings  at  Craigavon  and  at  the  Conference 
naturally  created  a  sensation  on  both  sides  of  the  Channel. 
They  brought  the  question  of  Ireland  once  more,  for  the 
first  time  since  1895,  into  the  forefront  of  British  politics. 
The  House  of  Commons  might  spend  the  autumn  ploughing 
its  way  through  the  intricacies  of  the  National  Insurance 
Bill,  but  everyone  knew  that  the  last  and  bitterest  battle 
against  Home  Rule  was  now  approaching.  And,  now 
that  the  Parliament  Act  was  safely  on  the  Statute-book, 


54     THE   CRAIGAVON  POLICY  AND   THE   U.F.V. 

Ministers  had  no  further  interest  in  concealment.  During 
the  elections,  from  which  alone  they  could  procure 
authority  for  legislation  of  so  fundamental  a  character, 
Mr.  Asquith,  as  we  have  seen,  regarded  any  inquiry  as 
to  his  intentions  as  "  confusing  the  issue."  But  now 
that  he  had  the  constituencies  in  his  pocket  for  five  years 
and  nothing  further  was  to  be  feared  from  that  quarter, 
his  cards  were  placed  on  the  table. 

On  the  3rd  of  October  Mr.  Winston  Churchill  told  his 
followers  at  Dundee  that  the  Government  would  introduce 
a  Home  Rule  Bill  next  session  "  and  press  it  forward  with 
all  their  strength,"  and  he  added  the  characteristic  injunc- 
tion that  "  they  must  not  take  Sir  Edward  Carson  too 
seriously."  But  that  advice  did  not  prevent  Mr.  Herbert 
Samuel,  another  member  of  the  Cabinet,  from  putting  in 
an  appearance  in  Belfast  four  days  later,  where  he  threw 
himself  into  a  ludicrously  unequal  combat  with  Carson, 
exerting  himself  to  calm  the  fears  of  business  men  as  to 
the  effect  of  Home  Rule  on  their  prosperity  ;  while,  in 
the  same  week,  Carson  himself,  at  a  great  Unionist 
demonstration  in  Dublin,  described  the  growth  of  Irish 
prosperity  in  the  last  twenty  years  as  "  almost  a  fairy 
tale,"  which  would  be  cut  short  by  Home  Rule.  On 
the  19th  of  the  same  month  Mr.  Birrell,  the  Chief  Secretary 
for  Ireland,  in  a  speech  at  Ilfracombe,  gave  some  scraps 
of  meagre  information  in  regard  to  the  provisions  that 
would  be  included  in  the  coming  Home  Rule  Bill ;  and 
on  the  21st  Mr.  Redmond  announced  that  the  drafting  of 
the  Bill  was  almost  completed,  and  that  the  measure 
would  be  "  satisfactory  to  Nationalists  both  in  principle 
and  detail."  ^ 

So  the  autumn  of  1911  wore  through — Ministers  doling 
out  snippets  of  information  ;  members  of  Parliament  and 
the  Press  urging  them  to  give  more.  The  people  of 
Ulster,  on  the  other  hand,  were  not  worrying  over  details. 
They  did  not  require  to  be  told  that  the  principle  would 
be  "  satisfactory  to  Nationalists,"  for  they  knew  that 
the  Government  had  to  "  toe  the  line  "  ;  nor  were  they 
in  doubt  that  what  was  satisfactory  to  Nationalists  must 

^  Annual  Register,  1911,  p.  228. 


1911]  DISCIPLINE  AND   ORDER  55 

be  unsatisfactory  to  themselves.  What  they  were  thinking 
about  was  not  what  the  Bill  would  or  would  not  contain, 
but  the  preparations  they  were  making  to  resist  its 
operation. 

A  day  or  two  after  Craigavon  the  leader  spoke  at  a 
great  meeting  in  Portrush,  after  receiving,  at  every  impor- 
tant station  he  passed  en  route  from  Belfast,  enthusiastic 
addresses  expressing  confidence  in  himself  and  approval 
of  the  Craigavon  declaration ;  and  in  this  speech  he 
considerably  amplified  what  he  had  said  at  Craigavon. 
After  explaining  how  the  whole  outlook  had  been  changed 
by  the  Parliament  Act,  which  cut  them  off  from  appeal 
to  the  sympathies  of  Englishmen,  he  pointed  out  to  his 
hearers  the  only  course  now  open  to  them,  namely,  that 
resolved  upon  at  Craigavon. 

"  Some  people,"  he  continued,  "  say  that  I  am  preaching 
disorder.  No,  in  the  course  I  am  advising  I  am  preaching 
order,  because  I  believe  that,  unless  we  are  in  a  position 
ourselves  to  take  over  the  government  of  those  places  we 
are  able  to  control,  the  people  of  Ulster,  if  let  loose  without 
that  organisation,  and  without  that  organised  deter- 
mination, might  in  a  foolish  moment  find  themselves  in  a 
condition  of  antagonism  and  grips  with  their  foes  which 
I  believe  even  the  present  Government  would  lament. 
And  therefore  I  say  that  the  course  we  recommend — and 
it  has  been  solemnly  adopted  by  your  four  hundred  repre- 
sentatives, after  mature  discussion  in  which  every  man 
understood  what  it  was  he  was  voting  about — is  the  only 
course  that  I  know  of  that  is  possible  under  the  circum- 
stances of  this  Province  which  is  consistent  with  the 
maintenance  of  law  and  order  and  the  prevention  of 
bloodshed." 

Superficially,  these  words  may  appear  boldly  para- 
doxical ;  but  in  fact  they  were  prophetic,  for  the  closest 
observers  of  the  events  of  the  next  three  years,  familiar 
with  Irish  character  and  conditions,  were  in  no  doubt 
whatever  that  it  was  the  disciplined  organisation  of  the 
Ulster  Unionists  alone  that  prevented  the  outbreak  of 
serious  disorders  in  the  North.  There  was,  on  the  con- 
trary, a  diminution  even  of  ordinary  crime,  accompanied 


56     THE   CRAIGAVON   POLICY  AND   THE  U.F.V. 

by  a  marked  improvement  in  the  general  demeanour,  and 
especially  in  the  sobriety,  of  the  people. 

The  speaker  then  touched  upon  a  question  which 
naturally  arose  out  of  the  Craigavon  policy  of  resistance 
to  Home  Rule.  He  had  been  asked,  he  said,  whether 
Ulster  proposed  to  fight  against  the  forces  of  the  Crown. 
He  had  already  contrasted  their  own  methods  with  those 
of  the  Nationalists,  saying  that  Ulstermen  would  never 
descend  to  action  "  from  behind  hedges  or  by  maiming 
cattle,  or  by  boycotting  of  individuals  "'  ;  he  now  added 
that  they  were  "  not  going  to  fight  the  Army  and  the  Navy 
.  .  .  God  forbid  that  any  loyal  Irishman  should  ever  shoot 
or  think  of  shooting  the  British  soldier  or  sailor.  But, 
believe  me,  any  Government  will  ponder  long  before  it 
dares  to  shoot  a  loyal  Ulster  Protestant,  devoted  to  his 
country  and  loyal  to  his  King." 

In  newspaper  reports  of  public  meetings,  sayings  of  pith 
and  moment  are  often  attributed  to  "  A  Voice  "  from  the 
audience.  On  this  occasion,  when  Sir  Edward  Carson 
referred  to  the  Army  and  the  Navy,  "  A  Voice  "  cried 
"  They  are  on  our  side."  It  was  the  truth,  as  subsequent 
events  were  to  show.  It  would  indeed  have  been  strange 
had  it  been  otherwise.  Men  wearing  His  Majesty's 
uniform,  who  had  been  quartered  at  one  time  in  Belfast 
or  Carrickfergus  and  at  another  in  Cork  or  Limerick, 
could  be  under  no  illusion  as  to  where  that  uniform  was 
held  in  respect  and  where  it  was  scorned.  The  certainty 
that  the  reality  of  their  own  loyalty  was  understood  by 
the  men  who  served  the  King  was  a  sustaining  thought 
to  Ulstermen  through  these  years  of  trial. 

This  Portrush  speech  cleared  the  air.  It  made  known 
the  modus  operandi,  as  Craigavon  had  made  known  the 
policy.  Henceforward  Ulster  Unionists  had  a  definite 
idea  of  what  was  before  them,  and  they  had  already 
unbounded  confidence  both  in  the  sagacity  and  in  the 
courage  of  the  man  who  had  become  their  leader. 

The  Craigavon  meeting  led,  almost  by  accident  as  it 
were,  to  a  development  the  importance  of  which  was 
hardly  foreseen  at  the  time.  Among  the  processionists 
who  passed  through  Captain  Craig's  grounds  there  was  a 


1911]  THE   LEGALITY   OF  DRILLING  57 

contingent  of  Orangemen  from  County  Tyrone  who 
attracted  general  attention  by  their  smart  appearance 
and  the  orderly  precision  of  their  marching.  On  inquiry 
it  was  learnt  that  these  men  had  of  their  own  accord  been 
learning  military  drill.  The  spirit  of  emulation  naturally 
suggested  to  others  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Tyrone 
Lodges.  It  was  soon  followed,  not  by  Orangemen  alone, 
but  by  members  of  the  Unionist  Clubs,  very  many  of 
whom  belonged  to  no  Orange  Lodge.  Within  a  few 
months  drilling — of  an  elementary  kind,  it  is  true — had 
become  popular  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  Colonel 
R.  IT.  Wallace,  C.B.,  who  had  served  with  distinction  in 
the  South  African  War,  where  he  commanded  the  5th 
Royal  Irish  Rifles,  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Orange 
Institution,  in  which  he  was  in  1911  Grand  Master  of  the 
Belfast  Lodges,  and  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Provincial 
Grand  Orange  Lodge  of  Ulster ;  and,  being  a  man  of 
marked  ability  and  widespread  popularity,  his  influence 
was  powerful  and  extensive.  He  was  a  devoted  adherent 
of  Carson,  and  there  was  no  keener  spirit  among  the 
Ulster  Loyalist  leaders.  Colonel  Wallace  was  among  the 
first  to  perceive  the  importance  of  this  military  drilling 
that  was  taking  place  throughout  Ulster,  and  through  his 
leading  position  in  the  Orange  Institution  his  encourage- 
ment did  much  to  extend  the  practice. 

Having  been  a  lawyer  by  profession  before  South  Africa 
called  him  to  serve  his  country  in  arms,  Wallace  was 
careful  to  ascertain  how  the  law  stood  with  regard  to  the 
drilling  that  was  going  on.  He  consulted  Mr.  James 
Campbell  (afterwards  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland),  who 
advised  that  any  two  Justices  of  the  Peace  had  power  to 
authorise  drill  and  other  military  exercises  within  the  area 
of  their  jurisdiction  on  certain  conditions.  The  terms  of 
the  application  made  by  Colonel  Wallace  himself  to  two 
Belfast  magistrates  show  what  the  conditions  were,  and, 
under  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  are  not  without  a 
flavour  of  humour.  The  request  stated  that  Wallace  and 
another  officer  of  the  Belfast  Grand  Lodge  were — 

"  Authorised  on  behalf  of  the  members  thereof  to  apply 
for  lawful   authority  to   them  to   hold   meetings   of  the 


58      THE   CRAIGAVON  POLICY  AND   THE   U.F.V. 

members  of  the  said  Lodge  and  the  Lodges  under  its  juris- 
diction for  the  purpose  of  training  and  drilling  themselves 
and  of  being  trained  and  drilled  to  the  use  of  arms,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  practising  military  exercises,  movements, 
and  evolutions.  And  we  are  authorised,  on  their  behalf, 
to  give  their  assiu-ance  that  they  desire  this  authority  as 
faithful  subjects  of  His  Majesty  the  King,  and  their 
undertaking  that  such  authority  is  sought  and  will  be 
used  by  them  only  to  make  them  more  efficient  citizens 
for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  the  constitution  of  the 
United  Kingdom  as  now  established  and  protecting  their 
rights  and  liberties  thereunder." 

The  bona  fides  of  an  application  couched  in  these  terms, 
which  followed  well-established  precedent,  could  not  be 
questioned  by  any  loyal  subject  of  His  Majesty.  The 
purpose  for  which  the  licence  was  requested  was  stated 
with  literal  exactness  and  without  subterfuge.  There  was 
nothing  seditious  or  revolutionary  in  it,  and  the  desire 
of  men  to  make  themselves  more  efficient  citizens  for 
maintaining  the  established  government  of  their  country, 
and  their  rights  and  liberties  under  it,  was  surely  not 
merely  innocent  of  offence,  but  praiseworthy. 

Such,  at  all  events,  was  the  view  taken  by  numbers  of 
strictly  conscientious  holders  of  the  Commission  of  the 
Peace  throughout  Ulster,  with  the  result  that  the  Ulster 
Volunteer  Force  sprang  into  existence  within  a  few  months 
without  the  smallest  violation  of  the  law.  Originating  in 
the  Orange  Lodges  and  the  Unionist  Clubs,  it  soon  enrolled 
large  numbers  of  men  outside  both  those  organisations. 
Men  with  military  experience  interested  themselves  in 
training  the  volunteers  in  their  districts  ;  the  local  bodies 
were  before  long  drawn  into  a  single  coherent  organisation 
on  a  territorial  basis,  which  soon  gave  rise  to  an  esprit  de 
corps  leading  to  friendly  rivalry  in  efficiency  between  the 
local  battalions. 

This  Ulster  Volunteer  Force  had  as  yet  no  arms  in  their 
hands,  but,  as  the  first  act  of  the  Liberal  Government  on 
coming  into  power  in  1906  had  been  to  drop  the  "  coercion  " 
Act  which  prohibited  the  importation  of  firearms  into 
Ireland,  there  was  no  reason  why,  in  the  course  of  time,  the 
U.V.F.  should  not  be  fully  armed  with  as  complete  an 


1911]         THE   VALUE   OF   THE   VOLUNTEERS  59 

avoidance  of  illegality  as  that  with  which  in  the  meantime 
they  were  acquiring  some  knowledge  of  military  duties. 
But  for  the  present  they  had  to  be  content  with  wooden 
"  dummy "  rifles  with  which  to  learn  their  drill,  an 
expedient  which,  as  will  be  seen  later  on,  excited  the 
derisive  mirth  of  the  English  Radical  Press. 

The  application  to  the  Belfast  Justices  for  leave  to  drill 
the  Orange  Lodges  was  dated  the  5th  of  January,  1912. 
For  some  months  both  before  and  after  that  date  the 
formation  of  new  battalions  proceeded  rapidly,  so  that  by 
the  summer  of  1912  the  force  was  of  considerable  strength 
and  decent  efficiency  ;  but  already  in  the  autumn  of  1911 
it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  existence  of  such  a  force 
w^ould  give  a  backing  to  the  Craigavon  policy  which 
nothing  else  could  provide.  At  Craigavon  the  leader  of 
the  movement  had  foreshadowed  the  possibility  of  having 
to  take  charge  of  the  government  of  those  districts  which 
the  Loyalists  could  control.  The  U.V.F.  made  such  control 
a  practical  proposition,  and  the  consciousness  of  this 
throughout  Ulster  gave  a  solid  reality  to  the  movement 
which  it  must  otherwise  have  lacked. 

The  special  Commission  of  Five  set  to  work  immediately 
after  the  Craigavon  meeting  to  carry  out  the  task  entrusted 
to  them  by  the  Council.  But,  as  more  than  two  years 
must  elapse  before  the  Home  Rule  Bill  could  become  law 
under  the  Parliament  Act,  there  was  no  immediate 
urgency  in  making  arrangements  for  setting  up  the  Pro- 
visional Government  resolved  upon  by  the  Council  on  the 
25th  of  September,  1911,  and  the  outside  public  heard 
nothing  about  what  was  being  done  in  the  matter  for  many 
months  to  come. 

Meantime  the  Ulster  Loyalists  watched  with  something 
akin  to  dismay  the  dissensions  in  the  Unionist  party  in 
England  over  the  question  of  Tariff  Reform,  which  made 
impossible  a  united  front  against  the  revived  attack  on 
the  Union,  and  woefully  weakened  the  effective  force  of 
the  Opposition  both  in  Parliament  and  the  country. 
Public  opinion  was  diverted  from  the  one  thing  that  really 
mattered — had  Englishmen  been  able  to  realise  it — from 
an  Imperial  standpoint,  no  less  than  from  the  standpoint 


60     THE   CRAIGAVON   POLICY  AND   THE   U.F.V. 

of  Irish  Loyalists.  On  the  8th  of  November,  1911,  mainly 
in  consequence  of  these  dissensions,  Mr.  Balfour  resigned 
the  leadership  of  the  Unionist  Party.  This  event  was 
regarded  in  Ulster  as  a  calamity.  Mr.  Balfour  was  the 
ablest  and  most  zealous  living  defender  of  the  Union,  and 
the  great  services  he  had  rendered  to  the  country  during 
his  memorable  Chief  Secretaryship  were  not  forgotten. 
Ulstermen,  in  whose  eyes  the  tariff  question  was  of  very 
subordinate  importance,  feared  that  no  one  could  be 
found  to  take  command  of  the  Unionist  forces  comparable 
with  the  Achilles  who,  as  they  supposed,  was  now  retiring 
to  his  tent. 

What  happened  in  regard  to  the  vacant  leadership  is 
well  known — how  Mr.  Walter  Long  and  Mr.  Austen 
Chamberlain,  after  presenting  themselves  for  a  day  or 
two  as  rival  candidates,  patriotically  agreed  to  stand 
aside  and  give  united  support  to  Mr.  Bonar  Law  in  order 
to  avoid  a  division  in  the  ranks  of  the  party.  It  is  less 
generally  known  that  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  before  consenting 
to  his  name  being  proposed,  wrote  and  asked  Sir  Edward 
Carson  if  he  would  accept  the  leadership,  and  that  it  was 
only  when  he  received  an  emphatic  reply  in  the  negative 
that  he  assumed  the  responsibility  himself.  If  this  had 
been  known  at  the  time  in  Ulster  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  consternation  would  have  been  caused  by  the 
refusal  of  their  own  leader  to  place  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  whole  Unionist  Party.  It  is  quite  certain  that 
Sir  Edward  Carson  would  have  been  acceptable  to  the 
party  meeting  at  the  Carlton  Club,  for  he  was  then  much 
better  known  to  the  party  both  in  the  House  of  Commons 
and  in  the  country  than  was  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  whose 
great  qualities  as  parliamentarian  and  statesman  had 
not  yet  been  revealed  ;  but  it  is  not  less  certain  that,  if 
his  first  thought  was  to  be  of  service  to  Ulster,  Carson 
acted  wisely  in  maintaining  a  position  of  independence, 
in  which  all  his  powers  could  continue  to  be  concentrated 
on  a  single  aim  of  statecraft. 

At  all  events,  the  new  leader  of  the  Unionist  Party  was 
not  long  in  proving  that  the  Ulster  cause  had  suffered  no 
set-back  by  the  change,  and  his  constant  and  courageous 


1911]  BONAR   LAW   THE   NEW   LEADER  61 

backing  of  the  Ulster  leader  won  him  the  unstinted 
admiration  and  affection  of  every  Irish  Loyalist.  Mr. 
Balfour  also  soon  showed  that  he  was  no  sulking  Achilles  ; 
his  loyalty  to  the  Unionist  cause  was  undimmed ;  he 
never  for  a  moment  acted,  as  a  meaner  man  might,  as  if 
his  successor  were  a  supplanter  ;  and  within  the  next 
few  months  he  many  times  rose  from  beside  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  deliver  some  of  the 
best  speeches  he  ever  made  on  the  question  of  Irish 
Government,  full  of  cogent  and  crushing  criticism  of  the 
Home  Rule  proposals  of  Mr.  Asquith. 


CHAPTER    VI 

MR.    CHURCHILL   IN    BELFAST 

At  the  women's  meeting  at  the  Ulster  Hall  on  the  18th  of 
January,  1912,^  Lord  Londonderry  took  occasion  to  recall 
once  more  to  the  memory  of  his  audience  the  celebrated 
speech  delivered  by  Lord  Randolph  Churchill  in  the  same 
building  twenty-six  years  before.  That  clarion  was, 
indeed,  in  no  danger  of  being  forgotten  ;  but  there  hap- 
pened at  that  particular  moment  to  be  a  very  special 
reason  for  Ulstermen  to  remember  it,  and  the  incident 
which  was  present  in  Londonderry's  mind — a  Resolution 
passed  by  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council  two  days  earlier — proved  to  be  so  distinct  a 
turning-point  in  the  history  of  Ulster's  stand  for  the 
Union  that  it  claims  more  than  a  passing  mention. 

"  Diligence  and  vigilance  should  be  your  watchword, 
so  that  the  blow,  if  it  is  coming,  may  not  come  upon  you 
as  a  thief  in  the  night,  and  may  not  find  you  unready  and 
taken  by  surprise."  Such  had  been  Lord  Randolph's 
warning.  It  was  now  learnt,  with  feelings  in  which 
disgust  and  indignation  were  equally  mingled,  that  Lord 
Randolph's  son  was  bent  on  coming  to  Belfast,  not  indeed 
as  a  thief  in  the  night,  but  with  challenging  audacity,  to 
give  his  countenance,  encouragement,  and  support  to  the 
adherents  of  disloyalty  whom  Lord  Randolph  had  told 
Ulster  to  resist  to  the  death.  And  not  only  was  he 
coming  to  Belfast ;  he  was  coming  to  the  Ulster  Hall — 
to  the  very  building  which  his  father's  oration  had,  as  it 
were,  consecrated  to  the  Unionist  cause,  and  which  had 
come  to  be  regarded  as  almost  a  loyalist  shrine. 

It  is  no  doubt  difficult  for  those  who  are  unfamiliar 
with  the  psychology  of  the  North  of  Ireland  to  understand 
the    anger    which    this    projected    visit    of   Mr.    Winston 

1  See  ante,  p.  38. 
62 


1912]         ANGER  AGAINST  MR.   CHURCHILL  63 

Churchill  aroused  in  Belfast.  His  change  of  political 
allegiance  from  the  party  which  his  father  had  so  brilliantly 
served  and  led,  to  the  party  which  his  father  had  so 
pitilessly  chastised,  was  of  course  displeasing  to  Con- 
servatives everywhere.  Politicians  who  leave  their  friends 
to  join  their  opponents  are  never  popular  with  those  they 
abandon,  and  Mr.  Winston  Churchill  was  certainly  no 
exception.  But  such  desertions,  after  the  first  burst  of 
wrath  has  evaporated,  are  generally  accepted  with  a 
philosophic  shrug  in  what  journalists  call  "  political 
circles  "  in  London,  where  plenty  of  precedents  for  lapses 
from  party  virtue  can  be  quoted.  In  the  provinces,  even 
in  England,  resentment  dies  down  less  easily,  and  forgive- 
ness is  of  slow  growth  ;  but  in  Ulster,  where  a  political 
creed  is  held  with  a  religious  fervour,  or,  as  a  hostile  critic 
might  put  it,  with  an  intolerance  unknown  in  England, 
and  where  the  dividing  line  between  "  loyalty "  and 
"  disloyalty  "  is  regarded  almost  as  a  matter  of  faith,  the 
man  who  passes  from  the  one  to  the  other  arouses  the 
same  bitterness  of  anger  and  contempt  which  soldiers  feel 
for  a  deserter  in  face  of  the  enemy. 

To  such  sentiments  there  was  added,  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Winston  Churchill,  a  shocked  feeling  that  his  appearance 
in  the  Ulster  Hall  as  an  emissary  of  Home  Rule  would  be 
an  act  not  only  of  political  apostasy  but  of  filial  impiety. 
The  prevailing  sentiment  in  Belfast  at  the  time  was 
expressed  somewhat  brutally,  perhaps,  in  the  local  Press — 
"  he  is  coming  to  dance  on  his  father's  coffin."  It  was  an 
outrage  on  their  feelings  which  the  people  of  Belfast  could 
not  and  would  not  tolerate.  If  Mr.  Churchill  was  deter- 
mined to  flaunt  the  green  flag  let  him  find  a  more  suitable 
site  than  the  very  citadel  in  which  they  had  been  exhorted 
by  his  father  to  keep  the  Union  Jack  flying  to  the  last. 

If  anything  could  have  added  to  the  anger  excited  by 
this  announcement  it  would  have  been  the  fact  that  the 
Cabinet  Minister  was  to  be  accompanied  on  the  platform 
of  the  Ulster  Hall  by  Mr.  Redmond  and  Mr.  Devlin,  and 
that  Lord  Pirrie  was  to  be  his  chairman.  There  was  no 
more  unpopular  citizen  of  Belfast  than  Lord  Pirrie  ;  and 
the  reason  was  neatly  explained  to  English  readers  by  the 


64  MR.    CHURCHILL   IN  BELFAST 

Special  Correspondent  of  The  Times.  "  Lord  Pirrie,"  he 
wrote,  "  deserted  Unionism  about  the  time  the  Liberals 
acceded  to  power,  and  soon  afterwards  was  made  a  Peer  ; 
whether  propter  hoc  or  only  post  hoc  I  am  quite  unable  to 
say,  though  no  Ulster  Unionist  has  any  doubts  on  the 
subject."  ^  But  that  was  not  quite  the  whole  reason. 
That  Lord  Pirrie  was  an  example  of  apostasy  "  just  for  a 
riband  to  stick  in  his  coat,"  was  the  general  belief ;  but 
it  was  also  resented  that  a  man  who  had  amassed,  not  "  a 
handful  of  silver,"  but  an  enormous  fortune,  through  a 
trade  created  by  an  eminent  Unionist  firm,  and  under 
conditions  brought  about  in  Belfast  by  the  Union  with 
Great  Britain,  should  have  kicked  away  the  ladder  by 
which  he  had  climbed  from  obscurity  to  wealth  and  rank. 
An  additional  cause  of  offence,  moreover,  was  that  he  was 
at  that  time  trying  to  persuade  credulous  people  in  England 
that  there  was  in  Ulster  a  party  of  Liberals  and  Protestant 
-Home  Rulers,  of  which  he  posed  as  leader,  although  every- 
one on  the  spot  knew  that  the  "  party  "  would  not  fill  a 
tramcar.  Of  this  party  the  same  Correspondent  of  The 
Times  very  truly  said  : 

"  Nearly  every  prominent  man  in  it  has  received  an 
office  or  a  decoration— and  the  fact  that,  with  all 
the  power  of  patronage  in  their  hands  for  the  last  six 
years,  the  Government  had  been  able  to  make  so  small 
an  inroad  into  the  solid  square  of  Ulster  Unionism  is  a 
remarkable  testimony  to  the  strength  of  the  sentiment 
which  gives  it  cohesion." 

But  a  score  of  individuals  in  possession  of  an  office 
equipped  with  stamped  stationery,  and  with  a  titled 
chairman  of  fabulous  wealth,  have  no  difficulty  in  deluding 
strangers  at  a  distance  into  the  belief  that  they  are  an 
influential  and  representative  body  of  men.  It  was  in 
furtherance  of  the  scheme  for  creating  this  false  impression 
across  the  Channel  that  Lord  Pirrie  and  his  so-called 
"  Ulster  Liberal  Association "  invited  Mr.  Winston 
Churchill  and  the  two  Nationalist  leaders  to  speak  in  the 
Ulster  Hall  on  the  8th  of  February,  1912,   and  that  the 

1  The  Times,  January  18th,  1912. 


1912]  LORD   PIRRIE'S   DESIGN  65 

announcement  of  the  fixture  was  made  in  the  Press  some 
three  weeks  earlier. 

The  Unionist  leaders  were  not  long  left  in  ignorance  of 
the  public  excitement  which  this  news  created  in  the 
city.  A  specially  summoned  meeting  of  the  Standing 
Committee,  with  Londonderry  in  the  chair,  was  held  on 
the  16th  of  January  to  consider  what  action,  if  any, 
should  be  taken  ;  but  it  was  no  simple  matter  they  had 
to  decide,  especially  in  the  absence  of  their  leader,  Sir 
Edward  Carson,  who  was  kept  in  England  by  great 
Unionist  meetings  which  he  was  addressing  in  Lancashire. 

The  reasons,  on  the  one  hand,  for  doing  nothing  were 
obvious  enough.  No  one,  of  course,  suggested  the  possi- 
bility of  preventing  Mr.  Churchill  coming  to  Belfast ;  but 
could  even-^fche  Ulster  Hall  itself,  the  Loyalist  sanctuary, 
be  preserved  from  the  threatened  desecration  ?  It  was 
the  property  of  the  Corporation,  and  the  Unionist  political 
organisation  had  no  exclusive  title  to  its  use.  The 
meeting  could  only  be  frustrated  by  force  in  some  form, 
or  by  a  combination  of  force  and  stratagem.  The  Standing 
Committee,  all  men  of  solid  sense  and  judgment,  several 
of  whom  were  Privy  Councillors,  were  very  fully  alive  to 
the  objections  to  any  resort  to  force  in  such  a  matter. 
They  valued  freedom  of  speech  as  highly  as  any  English- 
man, and  they  realised  the  odium  that  interference  with 
it  might  bring  both  on  themselves  and  their  cause  ;  and 
the  last  thing  they  desired  at  the  present  crisis  was  to 
alienate  public  sympathy  in  Great  Britain.  The  force  of 
such  considerations  was  felt  strongly  by  several  members, 
indeed  by  all,  of  the  Committee,  and  not  least  by  Lord 
Londonderry  himself,  whose  counsel  naturally  carried 
great  weight. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  danger  of  a  passive  attitude 
was  also  fully  recognised.  It  was  perfectly  well  under- 
stood that  one  of  the  chief  desires  of  the  Liberal  Govern- 
ment and  its  followers  at  this  time  was  to  make  the  world 
believe  that  Ulster's  opposition  to  Home  Rule  had  declined 
in  strength  in  recent  years ;  that  there  really  was  a 
considerable  body  of  Protestant  opinion  in  agreement 
with  Lord  Pirrie,  and  prepared  to  support  Home  Rule  on 


66  MR.   CHURCHILL   IN   BELFAST 

"Liberal,"  if  not  on  avowedly  "  Nationalist  "  principles,  and 
that  the  policy  for  which  Carson,  Londonderry,  and  the 
Unionist  Council  stood  was  a  gigantic  piece  of  bluff  which 
only  required  to  be  exposed  to  disappear  in  general  derision. 

From  this  point  of  view  the  Churchill  meeting  could 
only  be  regarded  as  a  deliberate  challenge  and  provocation 
to  Ulster.  It  seemed  probable  that  the  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty  had  been  selected  for  the  mission  in  preference 
to  any  other  Minister  precisely  because  he  was  Lord 
Randolph's  son.  All  this  bluster  about  "  fight  and  be 
right "  was  traceable,  so  Liberal  Ministers  doubtless 
reasoned,  to  that  unhappy  speech  of  "  Winston's  father  "  ; 
let  Winston  go  over  to  the  same  place  and  explain  his 
father  away.  If  he  obtained  a  hearing  in  the  Ulster  Hall 
in  the  company  of  Redmond,  Devlin,  and  Pirrie  the 
legend  of  Ulster  as  an  impregnable  loyalist  stronghold 
would  be  wiped  out,  and  Randolph's  rant  could  be  made 
to  appear  a  foolish  joke  in  comparison  with  the  more 
mature  and  discriminating  wisdom  of  Winston. 

It  cannot,  of  course,  be  definitely  asserted  that  the 
situation  was  thus  weighed  deliberately  by  the  Cabinet, 
or  by  Mr.  Churchill  himself.  But,  if  it  was  not,  they  must 
have  been  deficient  in  foresight ;  for  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
as  several  writers  in  the  Press  perceived,  that  the  trans- 
action would  so  have  presented  itself  to  the  mind  of  the 
public ;  the  psychological  result  would  inure  to  the 
benefit  of  the  Home  Rulers. 

But  there  was  also  another  consideration  which  could 
not  be  ignored  by  the  Standing  Committee — namely,  the 
attitude  of  that  important  individual,  the  "  man  in  the 
street."  Among  the  innumerable  misrepresentations 
levelled  at  the  Ulster  Movement  none  was  more  common 
than  that  it  was  confined  to  a  handful  of  lords,  landlords, 
and  wealthy  employers  of  labour  ;  and,  as  a  corollary, 
that  all  the  trouble  was  caused  by  the  perversity  of  a 
few  individuals,  of  whom  the  most  guilty  was  Sir  Edward 
Carson.  The  truth  was  very  different.  Even  at  the 
zenith  of  his  influence  and  popularity  Sir  Edward  himself 
would  have  been  instantly  disowned  by  the  Ulster 
democracy  if  he  had  given  away  anything  fundamental  to 


1912]  REASONS   FOR  TAKING   ACTION  67 

the  Unionist  cause.  More  than  to  anything  else  he  owed 
his  power  to  his  pledge,  never  violated,  that  he  would  never 
commit  his  followers  to  any  irretraceable  step  without  the 
consent  of  the  Council,  in  which  they  were  fully  represented 
on  a  democratic  basis.  At  the  particular  crisis  now  reached 
popular  feeling  could  not  be  safely  disregarded,  and  it  was 
clearly  understood  by  the  Standing  Committee  that  public 
excitement  over  the  coming  visit  of  Mr.  Churchill  was  only 
being  kept  within  bounds  by  the  belief  of  the  public  that 
their  leaders  would  not  "  let  them  down." 

All  these  considerations  were  most  carefully  balanced 
at  the  meeting  on  the  16th  of  Januar}'-,  and  there  were 
prolonged  deliberations  before  the  decision  was  arrived  at 
that  some  action  must  be  taken  to  prevent  the  Churchill 
meeting  being  held  in  the  Ulster  Hall,  but  that  no  obstacle 
could,  of  course,  be  made  to  his  speaking  in  any  other 
building  in  Belfast.  The  further  question  as  to  what  this 
action  should  be  was  under  discussion  when  Colonel  R.  H. 
Wallace,  C.B.,  Grand  Master  of  the  Belfast  Orangemen, 
and  a  man  of  great  influence  with  all  classes  in  the  city 
as  well  as  in  the  neighbouring  counties,  entered  the  room 
and  told  the  Committee  that  people  outside  were  expecting 
the  Unionist  Council  to  devise  means  for  stopping  the 
Ulster  Hall  meeting  ;  that  they  were  quite  resolved  to 
take  matters  into  their  own  hands  if  the  Council  remained 
passive  ;  and  that,  in  his  judgment,  the  result  in  that 
event  would  probably  be  very  serious  disorder  and  blood- 
shed, and  the  loss  of  all  control  over  the  Unionist  rank 
and  file  by  their  leaders. 

This  information  arrived  too  late  to  influence  the 
decision  on  the  main  question,  but  it  confirmed  its  wisdom 
and  set  at  rest  the  doubts  which  some  of  the  Committee 
had  at  first  entertained.  It  was  reported  at  the  time 
that  there  had  been  a  dissenting  minority  consisting  of 
Lord  Londonderry,  Mr.  Sinclair,  and  Mr.  John  Young,  the 
last-mentioned  being  a  Privy  Councillor,  a  trusted  leader 
of  the  Presbyterians,  and  a  man  of  moderate  views  whose 
great  influence  throughout  the  north-eastern  counties  was 
due  to  his  high  character  and  the  soundness  of  his  judg- 
ment.    There  was,  however,  no  truth  in  this  report,  which 


68  MR.   CHURCHILL   IN  BELFAST 

Londonderry  publicly  contradicted  ;  but  it  is  probable 
that  the  concurrence  of  the  men  mentioned,  and  perhaps 
of  others,  was  owing  to  their  well-founded  conviction  that 
the  course  decided  upon,  however  high-handed  it  might 
appear  to  onlookers  at  a  distance,  was  in  reality  the  only 
means  of  averting  much  more  deplorable  consequences. 

On  the  following  day,  January  17th,  an  immense  sensa- 
tion was  created  by  the  publication  of  the  Resolution 
which  had  been  unanimously  adopted  on  the  motion  of 
Captain  James  Craig,  M.P.     It  was  : 

"  That  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council  observes  with  astonishment  the  deliberate  chal- 
lenge thrown  down  by  Mr.  Winston  Churchill,  Mr.  John 
Redmond,  Mr.  Joseph  Devlin,  and  Lord  Pirrie  in  announc- 
ing their  intention  to  hold  a  Home  Rule  meeting  in  the 
centre  of  the  loyal  city  of  Belfast,  and  resolves  to  take 
steps  to  prevent  its  being  held." 

There  was  an  immediate  outpouring  of  vituperation  by 
the  Ministerial  Press  in  England,  as  had  been  anticipated 
by  the  Standing  Committee.  Special  Correspondents 
trooped  over  to  Belfast,  whence  they  filled  their  papers 
with  telegrams,  articles,  and  interviews,  ringing  the  changes 
on  the  audacity  of  this  unwarranted  interference  with 
freedom  of  speech,  and  speculating  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  threat  was  likely  to  be  carried  out.  Scribes  of 
"  Open  Letters  "  had  a  fine  opportunity  to  display  their 
gift  of  insolent  invective.  Cartoonists  and  caricaturists 
had  a  time  of  rare  enjoyment,  and  let  their  pencils  run 
riot.  Writers  in  the  Liberal  Press  for  the  most  part 
assumed  that  Mr.  Churchill  would  bid  defiance  to  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council ;  others  urged  him  to  do  so  and 
to  fulfil  his  engagement ;  some,  with  more  prudence, 
suggested  that  he  might  be  extricated  from  the  difficulty 
without  loss  of  dignity  if  the  Chief  Secretary  would  prohibit 
the  meeting,  as  likely  to  produce  a  breach  of  peace,  and  it 
was  pointed  out  that  Dublin  Castle  would  certainly  forbid 
a  meeting  in  Tipperary  organised  by  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council,  with  Sir  Edward  Carson  as  principal  speaker. 

However,  on  the  25th  of  January  Mr.  Churchill  ad- 
dressed   a    letter,  dated  from    the    Admiralty,   to    Lord 


1912]  THE   MEETING   ABANDONED  69 

Londonderry  at  Mount  Stewart,  in  which  he  said  he  was 
prepared  to  give  up  the  idea  of  speaking  in  the  Ulster 
Hall,  and  would  arrange  for  his  meeting  to  be  held  else- 
where in  the  city,  as  "  it  was  not  a  point  of  any  importance 
to  him  where  he  spoke  in  Belfast."  He  did  not  explain 
why,  if  that  were  the  case,  he  had  ever  made  a  plan  that 
so  obviously  constituted  a  direct  premeditated  challenge 
to  Ulster.  Lord  Londonderry,  in  his  reply,  said  that  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council  had  no  intention  of  interfering 
with  any  meeting  Mr.  Churchill  might  arrange  "  outside 
the  districts  which  passionately  resent  your  action,"  but 
that,  "  having  regard  to  the  intense  state  of  feeling " 
which  had  been  aroused,  the  Council  could  accept  no  re- 
sponsibility for  anything  that  might  occur  during  the  visit. 
Mr.  Churchill's  prudent  change  of  plan  relieved  the 
extreme  tension  of  the  situation,  and  there  was  much 
speculation  as  to  what  influence  had  produced  a  result  so 
satisfactory  to  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council.  The  truth 
seems  to  be  that  the  Council's  Resolution  had  impaled  the 
Government  on  the  horns  of  a  very  awkward  dilemma, 
completely  turning  the  tables  on  Ministers,  whose  design 
had  been  to  compel  the  Belfast  Unionists  either  to  adopt, 
on  the  one  hand,  an  attitude  of  apparent  intolerance 
which  would  put  them  in  the  wrong  in  the  eyes  of  the 
British  public,  or,  on  the  other,  to  submit  to  the  flagrant 
misrepresentation  of  their  whole  position  which  would  be 
the  outcome  of  a  Nationalist  meeting  in  the  Ulster  Hall 
presided  over  by  the  President  of  the  illusory  "  Ulster 
Liberal  Association,"  and  with  Lord  Randolph  Churchill's 
son  as  the  protagonist  of  Home  Rule.  The  threat  to  stop 
the  meeting  forced  the  Government  to  consider  how  the 
First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  and  his  friends  were  to  be 
protected  and  enabled  to  fulfil  their  programme.  The 
Irish  Executive,  according  to  the  Dublin  Correspondent 
of  The  Times,  objected  to  the  employment  of  troops  for 
this  purpose  ;    because — 

"  If  the  Belfast  Unionists  decided  to  resist  the  soldiers, 
bloodshed  and  disorder  on  a  large  scale  must  have  ensued. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  yielded  to  the  force  majeure  of 
British  bayonets,  and  Mr.  Churchill  was  enabled  to  speak 


70  MR.   CHURCHILL   IN  BELFAST 

in  the  Ulster  Hall,  they  would  still  have  carried  their 
point ;  they  would  have  proved  to  the  English  people 
that  Home  Rule  could  only  be  thrust  upon  Ulster  by  an 
overwhelming  employment  of  military  force.  The  Execu- 
tive preferred  to  depend  on  the  services  of  a  large  police 
force.  And  this  meant  that  Mr.  Churchill  could  not  speak 
in  the  Ulster  Hall ;  for  the  Belfast  democracy,  though  it 
might  yield  to  soldiers,  would  certainly  offer  a  fierce 
resistance  to  the  police.  It  seemed,  therefore,  that  the 
Government's  only  safe  and  prudent  course  was  to 
prevent  Mr.  Churchill  from  trying  to  speak  in  that  Hall."  ^ 

The  Government,  in  fact,  had  been  completely  out- 
manoeuvred. They  had  given  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council 
an  opportunity  to  show  its  own  constituents  and  the 
outside  world  that,  where  the  occasion  demanded  action, 
it  could  act  with  decision  ;  and  they  had  failed  utterly  to 
drive  a  wedge  between  Ulster  and  the  Unionist  Party  in 
England  and  in  the  South  of  Ireland,  as  they  hoped  to  do 
by  goading  Belfast  into  illegality.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  had  aroused  some  misgiving  in  the  ranks  of  their 
own  supporters.  A  political  observer  in  London  reported 
that  the  incident  had — 

"  Caused  a  feeling  of  considerable  apprehension  in 
Radical  circles.  The  pretence  that  Ulster  does  not  mean 
to  fight  is  now  almost  abandoned  even  by  the  most 
fanatical  Home  Rulers."  * 

Unionist  journals  in  Great  Britain,  almost  without 
exception,  applauded  the  conduct  of  the  Council,  and 
proved  by  their  comments  that  they  understood  its  motive, 
and  sympathised  with  the  feelings  of  Ulster.  The  Saturday 
Review  expressed  the  general  view  when  it  wrote  : 

"  With  the  indignation  of  the  loyal  Ulstermen  at  this 
proposal  we  are  in  complete  sympathy.  Where  there  is 
a  question  of  Home  Rule,  the  Ulster  Hall  is  sacred  ground, 
and  to  the  Ulster  mind  and,  indeed,  to  the  mind  of  any 
calm  outsider,  there  is  something  both  impudent  and 
impious   in  the   proposal  that  this  temple   of  Unionism 

1  The  Times,  January  26th,  1912. 

2  The.  Standard,  January  18th,  1912. 


1912]       BRITISH   SYMPATHY  AND   APPROVAL         71 

should  be  profaned  by  the  son  of  a  man  who  assisted  at 
its  consecration."  ^ 

The  southern  Unionists  of  Ireland  thoroughly  appre- 
ciated the  difficulty  that  had  confronted  their  friends  in 
the  North,  and  approved  the  way  it  had  been  met.  This 
was  natural  enough,  since,  as  the  Dublin  Correspondent  of 
The  Times  pointed  out — 

"  They  understand  Ulster's  position  better  than  it  can  be 
understood  in  England.  The}'^  realise  that  the  provocation 
has  been  extreme.  There  has  been  a  deliberate  con- 
spiracy to  persuade  the  English  people,  first,  that  Ulster 
is  weakening  in  its  opposition  to  Home  Rule  ;  and,  next, 
that  its  declared  refusal  to  accept  Home  Rule  in  any  form 
is  mere  bluff.  It  became  necessary  for  Ulster  to  defeat 
this  conspiracy,  and  the  Ulster  Council's  Resolution  has 
defeated  it."  « 

A  few  days  later  a  still  more  valuable  token  of  sympathy 
and  support  from  across  the  Channel  gave  fresh  encourage- 
ment to  Ulster.  On  the  26th  of  January  Mr.  Bonar  Law 
made  his  first  public  speech  as  leader  of  the  Unionist 
Party,  when  he  addressed  an  audience  of  ten  thousand 
people  in  the  Albert  Hall  in  London.  In  the  course  of  a 
masterly  analysis  of  the  dangers  inseparable  from  Home 
Rule,  he  once  more  drew  attention  to  "  the  dishonesty 
with  which  the  Government  hid  Home  Rule  before  the 
election,  and  now  propose  to  carry  it  after  the  election  "  ; 
but  the  passage  which  gave  the  greatest  satisfaction  in 
Ulster  was  that  in  which,  speaking  for  the  whole  Unionist 
Party — which  meant  at  least  half,  and  probably  more 
than  half,  the  British  nation— Mr.  Bonar  Law,  in  reference 
to  the  recent  occurrence  in  Belfast,  said  : 

"  We  hear  a  great  deal  about  the  intolerance  of  Ulster. 
It  is  easy  to  be  tolerant  for  other  people.  We  who  repre- 
sent the  Unionist  Party  in  England  and  Scotland  have 
supported,  and  we  mean  to  support  to  the  end,  the  loyal 
minority.  We  support  them  not  because  we  are  intolerant, 
but  because  their  claims  are  just." 

1  The  Saturday  Review,  January  27th,  1912. 

2  The  Times,  January  20th,  1912. 


72  MR.   CHURCHILL   IN   BELFAST 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  Churchill's  friends  were  seeking  a  build- 
ing in  Belfast  where  the  baffled  Minister  could  hold  his 
meeting  on  the  8th  of  February,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
search  the  director  of  the  Belfast  Opera-house  was  offered 
a  knighthood  as  well  as  a  large  sum  of  money  for  the  use 
of  his  theatre,^  a  fact  that  possibly  explains  the  statement 
made  by  the  London  Correspondent  of  The  Freeman's 
Journal  on  the  28th  of  January,  that  the  Government's 
Chief  Whip  and  Patronage  Secretary  was  busying  himself 
with  the  arrangement.^  Captain  Frederick  Guest,  M.P., 
one  of  the  junior  whips,  arrived  in  Belfast  on  the  25th 
to  give  assistance  on  the  spot ;  but  no  suitable  hall  with 
an  auspicious  genius  loci  could  apparently  be  found,  for 
eventually  a  marquee  was  imported  from  Scotland  and 
erected  on  the  Celtic  football  ground,  in  the  Nationalist 
quarter  of  the  city. 

The  question  of  maintaining  order  on  the  day  of  the 
meeting  was  at  the  same  time  engaging  the  attention  both 
of  the  Government  in  Dublin  and  the  Unionist  Council  in 
Belfast.  The  former  decided  to  strengthen  the  garrison 
of  Belfast  by  five  battalions  of  infantry  and  two  squadrons 
of  cavalry,  while  at  the  Old  Town  Hall  anxious  consul- 
tations were  held  as  to  the  best  means  of  securing  that 
the  soldiers  should  have  nothing  to  do.  The  Unionist 
leaders  had  not  yet  gained  the  full  influence  they  were 
able  to  exercise  later,  nor  were  their  followers  as  disciplined 
as  they  afterwards  became.  The  Orange  Lodges  were  the 
only  section  of  the  population  in  any  sense  under  discipline  ; 
and  this  section  was  a  much  smaller  proportion  of  the 
Unionist  rank  and  file  than  English  Liberals  supposed, 
who  were  in  the  habit  of  speaking  as  if  "  Orangemen  " 
were  a  correct  cognomen  of  the  whole  Protestant  popula- 
tion of  Ulster.  It  was,  however,  only  through  the  Lodges 
and  the  Unionist  Clubs  that  the  Standing  Committee  could 
hope  to  exert  influence  in  keeping  the  peace.  That  Com- 
mittee, accordingly,  passed  a  Resolution  on  the  5th  of 
February,  moved  by  Colonel  Wallace,  the  most  influential 

1  See  Interview  with  Mr.  F.  W.  Warden  in  The  Standard,  February  8th, 
1912. 

*  See  Dublin  Correspondent's  telegram  in  The  Times,  January  29th, 
1912. 


1912]    MEASURES  FOR   KEEPING   THE   PEACE  73 

of  the  Belfast  Orangemen,  which  "  strongly  urged  all 
Unionists,"  in  view  of  the  Ulster  Hall  victory,  "  to 
abstain  from  any  interference  with  the  meeting  at  the 
Celtic  football  ground,  and  to  do  everything  in  their  power 
to  avoid  any  action  that  might  lead  to  any  disturbance." 

The  Resolution  was  circulated  to  all  the  Orange  Lodges 
and  Unionist  Clubs  in  Belfast  and  the  neighbouring 
districts — for  it  was  expected  that  some  30,000  or  40,000 
people  might  come  into  the  city  from  outside  on  the  day 
of  the  meeting — with  urgent  injunctions  to  the  officers  to 
bring  it  to  the  notice  of  all  members  ;  it  was  also  exten- 
sively placarded  on  all  the  hoardings  of  Belfast.  Of  even 
greater  importance  perhaps,  in  the  interests  of  peace,  was 
the  decision  that  Carson  and  Londonderry  should  them- 
selves remain  in  Belfast  on  the  8th.  This,  as  The  Times 
Correspondent  in  Belfast  had  the  insight  to  observe,  was 
"  the  strongest  guarantee  of  order  "  that  could  be  given, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  their  appearance,  together  with 
Captain  Craig,  M.P.,  and  Lord  Templetown,  on  the  balcony 
of  the  Ulster  Club  had  a  calming  effect  on  the  excited 
crowd  that  surged  round  Mr.  Churchill's  hotel,  and  served 
as  a  reminder  throughout  the  day  of  the  advice  which  these 
leaders  had  issued  to  their  adherents. 

The  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  was  accompanied  to 
Belfast  by  Mrs.  Churchill,  his  Secretary,  and  two  Liberal 
Members  of  Parliament,  Mr.  Fiennes  and  Mr.  Hamar 
Greenwood — for  the  last-mentioned  of  whom  fate  was 
reserving  a  more  intimate  connection  with  Irish  trouble 
than  could  be  got  from  a  fleeting  flirtation  with  disloyalty 
in  West  Belfast.  They  were  greeted  at  Larne  by  a  large 
crowd  vociferously  cheering  Carson,  and  singing  the 
National  Anthem.  A  still  larger  concourse  of  people, 
though  it  could  not  be  more  hostile,  awaited  Mr.  Churchill 
at  the  Midland  Station  in  Belfast  and  along  the  route  to 
the  Grand  Central  Hotel.  When  he  started  from  the  hotel 
early  in  the  afternoon  for  the  football  field  the  crowd  in 
Royal  Avenue  was  densely  packed  and  actively  demon- 
strating its  unfavourable  opinion  of  the  distinguished 
visitor  ;  on  whom,  however,  none  desired  or  attempted 
to  inflict  any  physical  injury,  although  the  involuntary 


74  MR.   CHURCHILL  IN  BELFAST 

swaying  of  so  great  a  mass  of  men  was  in  danger  for  a 
moment  of  overturning  the  motor-car  in  which  he  and 
his  wife  were  seated. 

The  way  to  the  meeting  took  the  Minister  from  the 
Unionist  to  the  Nationahst  district  and  afforded  him  a 
practical  demonstration  of  the  gulf  between  the  "  two 
nations  "  which  he  and  his  colleagues  were  bent  upon 
treating  as  one.  The  moment  he  crossed  the  boundary, 
the  booing  and  groaning  of  one  area  was  succeeded  by 
enthusiastic  cheers  in  the  other ;  grotesque  effigies  of 
Redmond  and  of  himself  in  one  street  were  replaced  by 
equally  unflattering  effigies  of  Londonderry  and  Carson 
in  the  next ;  in  Royal  Avenue  both  men  and  women 
looked  like  tearing  him  in  pieces,  in  Falls  Road  they 
thronged  so  close  to  shake  his  hand  that  "  Mr.  Hamar 
Greenwood  found  it  necessary"  (so  the  Times  Corre- 
spondent reported)  "  to  stand  on  the  footboard  outside 
the  car  and  relieve  the  pressure." 

It  was  expected  that  IMr.  Churchill  would  return  to  his 
hotel  after  the  meeting,  and  there  had  been  no  shrinkage 
in  the  crowd  in  the  interval,  nor  any  change  in  its  senti- 
ments. The  police  decided  that  it  would  be  wiser  for  him 
to  depart  by  another  route.  He  was  therefore  taken  by 
back  streets  to  the  Midland  terminus,  and  without  waiting 
for  the  ordinary  train  by  which  he  had  arranged  to  travel, 
was  as  hastily  as  possible  despatched  to  Larne  by  a 
special  train  before  it  was  generally  known  that  Royal 
Avenue  and  York  Street  were  to  see  him  no  more.  Mr. 
Churchill  tells  us  in  his  brilliant  biography  of  his  father 
that  when  Lord  Randolph  arrived  at  Larne  in  1886  "  he 
was  welcomed  like  a  King."  His  own  arrival  at  the 
same  port  was  anything  but  regal,  and  his  departure  more 
resembled  that  of  the  "  thief  in  the  night,"  of  whom  Lord 
Randolph  had  bidden  Ulster  beware. 

So  this  memorable  pilgrimage  ended.  Of  the  speech 
itself  which  Mr.  Churchill  delivered  to  some  thousands  of 
Nationalists,  many  of  whom  were  brought  by  special 
train  from  Dublin,  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  say  more 
than  that  Sir  Edward  Carson  described  it  a  few  days 
later  as  a  "  speech  full  of  eloquent  platitudes,"  and  that 


1912]  THE   RESULT   OF   THE   VISIT  75 

it  certainly  did  little  to  satisfy  the  demand  for  information 
about  the  Home  Rule  Bill  which  was  to  be  produced  in 
the  coming  session  of  Parliament. 

The  undoubted  importance  which  this  visit  of  Mr. 
Churchill  to  Belfast  and  its  attendant  circumstances  had 
in  the  development  of  the  Ulster  Movement  is  the  justifi- 
cation for  treating  it  in  what  may  appear  to  be  dispro- 
portionate detail.  From  it  dates  the  first  clear  realisation 
even  by  hostile  critics  in  England,  and  probably  by 
Ministers  themselves,  that  the  policy  of  Ulster  as  laid  down 
at  Craigavon  could  not  be  dismissed  with  a  sneer,  although 
it  is  true  that  there  were  many  Home  Rulers  who  never 
openly  abandoned  the  pretence  that  it  could.  Not  less 
important  was  the  effect  in  Ulster  itself.  The  Unionist 
Council  had  proved  itself  in  earnest ;  it  could,  and  was 
prepared  to,  do  more  than  organise  imposing  political 
demonstrations  ;  and  so  the  rank  and  file  gained  confi- 
dence in  leaders  who  could  act  as  well  as  make  speeches, 
and  who  had  shown  themselves  in  an  emergency  to  be  in 
thorough  accord  with  popular  sentiment ;  the  belief  grew 
that  the  men  who  met  in  the  Old  Town  Hall  would  know 
how  to  handle  any  crisis  that  might  arise,  would  not 
timidly  shrink  from  acting  as  occasion  might  require, 
and  were  quite  able  to  hold  their  own  with  the  Govern- 
ment in  tactical  manoeuvres.  This  confidence  improved 
discipline.  The  Lodges  and  the  Clubs  and  the  general 
body  of  shipyard  and  other  workers  had  less  temptation 
to  take  matters  into  their  own  hands  ;  they  were  content 
to  wait  for  instructions  from  headquarters  now  that  they 
could  trust  their  leaders  to  give  the  necessary  instructions 
at  the  proper  time. 

The  net  result,  therefore,  of  an  expedition  which  was 
designed  to  expose  the  hollowness  and  the  weakness  of  the 
Ulster  case  was  to  augment  the  prestige  of  the  Ulster 
leaders  and  the  self-confidence  of  the  Ulster  people,  and 
to  make  both  leaders  and  followers  understand  better 
than  before  the  strength  of  the  position  in  which  they 
were  entrenched. 


CHAPTER    VII 

"  WHAT   ANSWER   FROM    THE    NORTH  ?  " 

Public  curiosity  as  to  the  proposals  that  the  coming 
Home  Rule  Bill  might  contain  was  not  set  at  rest  by 
Mr.  Churchill's  oration  in  Belfast.  The  constitution- 
mongers  were  hard  at  work  with  suggestions.  Attempts 
were  made  to  conciliate  hesitating  opinion  by  representing 
Irish  Home  Rule  as  a  step  in  the  direction  of  a  general 
federal  system  for  the  United  Kingdom,  and  by  tracing 
an  analogy  with  the  constitutions  already  granted  to  the 
self-governing  Dominions.  Closely  connected  with  the 
federal  idea  was  the  question  of  finance.  There  was 
lively  speculation  as  to  what  measure  of  control  over 
taxation  the  Bill  would  confer  on  the  Irish  Parliament, 
and  especially  whether  it  would  be  given  the  power  to 
impose  duties  of  Customs  and  Excise.  Home  Rulers 
themselves  were  sharply  divided  on  the  question.  At  a 
conference  held  at  the  London  School  of  Economics  on 
the  10th  of  January,  1912,  Professor  T.  M.  Kettle,  Mr. 
Erskine  Childers,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Lough,  M.P.,  declared 
themselves  in  favour  of  Irish  fiscal  autonomy,  while 
Lord  Macdonnell  opposed  the  idea  as  irreconcilable  with 
the  fiscal  policy  of  Great  Britain. ^  The  latter  opinion 
was  very  forcibly  maintained  a  few  weeks  later  by  a 
member  of  the  Government  with  some  reputation  as  an 
economist.  Speaking  to  a  branch  of  the  United  Irish 
League  in  London,  Mr.  J.  M.  Robertson,  Parliamentary 
Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  summarily  rejected 
fiscal  autonomy  for  Ireland,  which,  he  said,  "  really  meant 
a  claim  for  separation."  "  To  give  fiscal  autonomy," 
he   added,    "  would   mean   disintegration   of    the  United 

1  Annual  Register,  1912,  p.  3. 
76 


1912]         FISCAL  AUTONOMY  FOR   IRELAND  77 

Kingdom.  Fiscal  autonomy  for  Ireland  put  an  end 
altogether  to  all  talk  of  Federal  Home  Rule,  and  he  could 
see  no  hope  for  a  Home  Rule  Bill  if  it  included  fiscal 
autonomy."  ^ 

Although  the  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Trade  was 
probably  not  in  the  confidence  of  the  Cabinet,  many  people 
took  Mr.  Robertson's  speech  as  an  indication  of  the  limits 
of  financial  control  that  the  Bill  would  give  to  Ireland. 
On  the  same  day  that  it  was  delivered  the  Dublin  Corre- 
spondent of  The  Times  reported  that  the  demand  of  the 
Nationalists  for  control  of  Customs  and  Excise  was  rapidly 
growing,  and  that  any  Bill  which  withheld  it,  even  if  it 
could  scrape  through  a  National  Convention,  "  would 
never  survive  the  two  succeeding  years  of  agitation  and 
criticism  "  ;  and  he  agreed  with  Mr.  Robertson  that  if, 
on  the  other  hand,  fiscal  autonomy  should  be  conceded, 
it  would  destroy  all  prospect  of  a  settlement  on  federal 
lines,  and  would  "  establish  virtual  separation  between 
Ireland  and  Great  Britain."  He  predicted  that  "  Ulster, 
of  course,  would  resist  to  the  bitter  end."  ^ 

Ulster,  in  point  of  fact,  took  but  a  secondary  interest  in 
the  question.  Her  people  were  indeed  opposed  to  anything 
that  would  enlarge  the  separation  from  England,  or 
emphasise  it,  and,  as  they  realised,  like  the  Secretary  to 
the  Board  of  Trade,  that  fiscal  autonomy  would  have 
this  effect,  they  opposed  fiscal  autonomy ;  but  they  cared 
little  about  the  thing  in  itself  one  way  or  the  other.  Nor 
did  they  greatly  concern  themselves  whether  Home  Rule 
proceeded  on  federal  lines  or  any  other  lines  ;  nor  whether 
some  apt  analogy  could  or  could  not  be  found  between 
Ireland  and  the  Dominions  of  the  Crown  thousands  of 
miles  oversea.  Having  made  up  their  minds  that  no 
Dublin  Parliament  should  exercise  jurisdiction  over  them- 
selves, they  did  not  worry  themselves  much  about  the 
powers  with  which  such  a  Parliament  might  be  endowed. 
It  is  noteworthy,  however,  in  view  of  the  importance 
which  the  question  afterwards  attained,  that  so  early  as 
January  1912  Sir  Edward  Carson,  speaking  in  Manchester, 
maintained  that  without  fiscal  autonomy  Home  Rule  was 

1  The  Times,  February  3rd,  1912.  2  Ibid. 


78        "  WHAT  ANSWER  FROM  THE  NORTH  ?  " 

impossible/  and  that  some  months  later  Mr.  Bonar  Law, 
in  a  speech  at  Glasgow  on  the  21st  of  May,  said  that  if 
the  Unionist  Party  were  in  a  position  where  they  had  to 
concede  Home  Rule  to  Ireland  they  would  include  fiscal 
autonomy  in  the  grant.*  These  leaders,  who,  unlike  the 
Liberal  Ministers,  had  some  knowledge  of  the  Irish  tem- 
perament, realised  from  the  first  the  absurdity  of  Mr. 
Asquith's  attempt  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  "  the  rebel 
party  "  by  offering  something  very  different  from  what 
that  party  demanded.  The  Ulster  leader  and  the  leader 
of  the  Unionist  Party  knew  as  well  as  anybody  that 
fiscal  autonomy  meant  "  virtual  separation  between 
Ireland  and  Great  Britain,"  but  they  also  knew  that 
separation  was  the  ultimate  aim  of  Nationalist  policy, 
and  that  there  could  be  no  finality  in  the  Liberal  com- 
promise ;  and  they  no  doubt  agreed  with  the  forcible 
language  used  by  Mr.  Balfour  in  the  previous  autumn, 
when  he  said  that  "  the  rotten  hybrid  system  of  a  Parlia- 
ment with  municipal  duties  and  a  national  feeling  seemed 
to  be  the  dream  of  political  idiots." 

The  ferment  of  speculation  as  to  the  Government's 
intentions  continued  during  the  early  weeks  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary session,  which  opened  on  the  14th  of  February, 
but  all  inquiries  by  members  of  the  House  of  Commons 
were  met  by  variations  on  the  theme  "  Wait  and  See." 
Unionists,  however,  realised  that  it  was  not  in  Parliament, 
but  outside,  that  the  only  effective  work  could  be  done, 
in  the  hope  of  forcing  a  dissolution  of  Parliament  before 
the  Bill  could  become  law.  A  vigorous  campaign  was 
conducted  throughout  the  country,  especially  in  Lanca- 
shire, and  arrangements  were  made  for  a  monster  demon- 
stration in  Belfast,  which  should  serve  both  as  a  counter- 
blast to  the  Churchill  fiasco,  and  for  enabling  English  and 
Scottish  Unionists  to  test  for  themselves  the  temper  of 
the  Ulster  resistance.  In  the  belief  that  the  Home  Rule 
Bill  would  be  introduced  before  Easter,  it  was  decided  to 
hold  this  meeting  in  the  Recess,  as  Mr.  Bonar  Law  had 
promised  to  speak,  and  a  number  of  English  Members  of 
Parliament  wished  to  be  present.     At  the  last  moment 

1  Annual  Register,  1912,  p.  7,  *  Ibid.,  p.  126. 


1912]  A   POET'S   INDIGNATION  79 

the  Government  announced  that  the  Bill  would  not  be 
presented  till  the  11th  of  April,  after  Parliament  reas- 
sembled, and  its  provisions  were  therefore  still  unknown 
when  the  demonstration  took  place  on  the  9th  in  the 
Show  Ground  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  at 
Balmoral,  a  suburb  of  Belfast. 

Feeling  ran  high  as  the  date  of  the  double  event 
approached,  and  the  indignant  sense  of  wrong  that 
prevailed  in  Ulster  was  finely  voiced  in  a  poem,  entitled 
"  Ulster  1912,"  written  by  Mr.  Kipling  for  the  occasion 
which  appeared  in  The  Morning  Post  on  the  day  of  the 
Balmoral  demonstration,  of  which  the  first  and  last 
stanzas  were  : 

"  The  dark  eleventh  hour 
Draws  on,  and  sees  us  sold 
To  every  evil  Power 
We  fought  against  of  old. 
Rebellion,  rapine,  hate. 
Oppression,  wrong,  and  greed 
Are  loosed  to  rule  oiir  fate. 
By  England's  act  and  deed. 

"  Believe,  w^  dare  not  boast, 
Believe,  we  do  not  fear — 
We  stand  to  pay  the  cost 
In  all  that  men  hold  dear. 
What  answer  from  the  North  ? 
One  Law,  One  Land,  One  Throne. 
If  England  drive  us  forth 
We  shall  not  fall  alone  !  " 

The  preparations  for  the  Unionist  leader's  coming  visit 
to  Belfast  had  excited  the  keenest  interest  throughout 
England  and  Scotland.  Coinciding  as  it  did  with  the 
introduction  of  the  Government's  Bill,  it  was  recognised 
to  be  the  formal  countersigning  by  the  whole  Unionist 
Party  of  Great  Britain  of  Ulster's  proclamation  of  her 
determination  to  resist  her  forcible  degradation  in  con- 
stitutional status.  The  same  note  of  mingled  reproach 
and  defiance  which  sounded  in  Kipling's  verses  was  heard 
in  the  grave  warning  addressed  by  The  Times  to  the 
country  in  a  leading  article  on  the  morning  of  the  meeting  : 

"  Nobody  of  common  judgment  and  common  knowledge 
of  political  movements  can  honestly  doubt  the  exceptional 


80        "  WHAT   ANSWER  FROM  THE  NORTH  ?  " 

gravity  of  the  occasion,  and  least  of  all  can  any  such 
doubt  be  felt  by  any  who  know  the  men  of  Ulster.  To 
make  light  of  the  deep-rooted  convictions  which  fill  the 
minds  of  those  who  will  listen  to  Mr.  Bonar  Law  to-day  is 
a  shallow  and  an  idle  affectation,  or  a  token  of  levity  and 
of  ignorance.  Enlightened  Liberalism  may  smile  at  the 
beliefs  and  the  passions  of  the  Ulster  Protestants,  but  it 
was  those  same  beliefs  and  passions,  in  the  forefathers  of 
the  men  who  will  gather  in  Belfast  to-day,  which  saved 
Ireland  for  the  British  Crown,  and  freed  the  cause  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty  in  these  islands  from  its  last  dangerous 
foes.  ...  It  is  useless  to  argue  that  they  are  mistaken. 
They  have  reasons,  never  answered  yet,  for  believing  that 
they  are  not  mistaken.  .  .  .  Their  temper  is  an  ultimate 
fact  which  British  statesmen  and  British  citizens  have  to 
face.  These  men  cannot  be  persuaded  to  submit  to  Home 
Rule.  Are  Englishmen  and  Scotchmen  prepared  to  fasten 
it  upon  them  by  military  force  ?  That  is  the  real  Ulster 
question." 

Other  great  English  newspapers  wrote  in  similar  strain, 
and  the  support  thus  given  was  of  the  greatest  possible 
encouragement  to  the  Ulster  people,  who  were  thereby 
assured  that  their  standpoint  was  not  misunderstood  and 
that  the  justice  of  their  "  loyalist  "  claims  was  appreciated 
across  the  Channel. 

Among  the  numberless  popular  demonstrations  which 
marked  the  history  of  Ulster's  stand  against  Home  Rule, 
four  stand  out  pre-eminent  in  the  impressiveness  of  their 
size  and  character.  Those  who  attended  the  Ulster 
Convention  of  1892  were  persuaded  that  no  political 
meeting  could  ever  be  more  inspiring  ;  but  many  of  them 
lived  to  acknowledge  that  it  was  far  surpassed  at  Craigavon 
in  1911.  The  Craigavon  meeting,  though  in  some  respects 
as  important  as  any  of  the  series,  was,  from  a  spectacular 
po  nt  of  view,  much  less  imposing  than  the  assemblage 
which  listened  to  Mr.  Bonar  Law  at  Balmoral  on  Easter 
Tuesday,  1912  ;  and  the  latter  occasion,  though  never 
surpassed  in  splendour  and  magnitude  by  any  single 
gathering,  was  in  significance  but  a  prelude  to  the  magni- 
ficent climax  reached  in  the  following  September  on  the 
day  when  the  Covenant  was  signed  throughout  Ulster. 


1912]         GREAT   ULSTER  DEMONSTRATIONS  81 

The  Balmoral  demonstration  had,  however,  one  dis- 
tinctive feature.  At  it  the  Unionist  Party  of  Great 
Britain  met  and  grasped  the  hand  of  Ulster  Loyalism. 
It  gave  the  leader  and  a  large  number  of  his  followers  an 
opportunity  to  judge  for  themselves  the  strength  and 
sincerity  of  Ulster,  and  at  the  same  time  it  served  to  show 
the  Ulstermen  the  weight  of  British  opinion  ready  to  back 
them.  Mr.  Bonar  Law  was  accompanied  to  Belfast  by 
no  less  than  seventy  Members  of  Parliament,  representing 
English,  Scottish,  and  Welsh  constituencies,  not  a  few  of 
whom  had  already  attained,  or  afterwards  rose  to,  political 
distinction.  Among  them  were  Mr.  Walter  Long,  Lord 
Hugh  Cecil,  Sir  Robert  Finlay,  Lord  Charles  Beresford, 
Lord  Castlereagh,  Mr.  Amery,  Mr.  J.  D.  Baird,  Sir  Arthur 
Griffith-Boscawen,  Mr.  Ian  Malcolm,  Lord  Claud  Hamilton, 
Mr.  J.  G.  Butcher,  Mr.  Ernest  Pollock,  Mr.  George  Cave, 
Mr.  Felix  Cassel,  Mr.  Ormsby-Gore,  Mr.  Scott  Dickson, 
Mr.  W.  Peel,  Captain  Gilmour,  Mr.  George  Lloyd,  Mr.  J.  W. 
Hills,  Mr.  George  Lane-Fox,  Mr.  Stuart-Wortley,  Mr. 
J.  F.  P.  Rawlinson,  Mr.  H.  J.  Mackinder,  and  Mr.  Herbert 
Nield. 

The  reception  of  the  Unionist  Leader  at  Larne  on  Easter 
Monday  was  wonderful,  even  to  those  who  knew  what  a 
Larne  welcome  to  loyalist  leaders  could  be,  and  who 
recalled  the  scenes  there  during  the  historic  visits  of  Lord 
Randolph  Churchill,  Lord  Salisbury,  and  Mr.  Balfour. 
"  If  this  is  how  you  treat  your  friends,"  said  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  simply,  in  reply  to  one  of  the  innumerable  addresses 
presented  to  him,  "  I  am  glad  I  am  not  an  enemy."  Before 
reaching  Belfast  he  had  ample  opportunity  at  every 
stopping-place  of  his  train  to  note  the  fervour  of  the 
populace.  "  Are  all  these  people  landlords  ?  "  he  asked 
(in  humorous  allusion  to  the  Liberal  legend  that  Ulster 
Unionism  was  manufactured  by  a  few  aristocratic  land- 
owners), as  he  saw  every  platform  thronged  with  en- 
thusiastic crowds  of  men  and  women,  the  majority  of 
whom  were  evidently  of  the  poorer  classes.  In  Belfast 
the  concourse  of  people  was  so  dense  in  the  streets  that 
the  motor-car  in  which  Mr.  Bonar  Law  and  Sir  Edward 
Carson  sat  side  by  side  found  it  difficult  to  make  its  way 


i'^«^?r'i!'=^''e..». 


82        "WHAT  ANSWER   FROM  THE   NORTH?" 

to  the  Reform  Club,  the  headquarters  of  what  had  once 
been  Ulster  Liberalism,  where  an  address  was  presented 
in  which  it  was  stated  that  the  conduct  of  the  Government 
"  will  justify  loyal  Ulster  in  resorting  to  the  most  extreme 
measures  in  resisting  Home  Rule."  In  his  reply  Mr. 
Bonar  Law  gave  them  "  on  behalf  of  the  Unionist  Party 
this  message — though  the  brunt  of  the  battle  will  be  yours, 
there  will  not  be  wanting  help  from  '  across  the  Channel.'  " 
At  Comber,  where  a  stop  was  made  on  the  way  to  Mount 
Stewart,  he  asked  himself  how  Radical  Scotsmen  would 
like  to  be  treated  as  the  Government  were  treating  Pro- 
testant Ulster.  "  I  know  Scotland  well,"  he  replied  to 
his  own  question,  "  and  I  believe  that,  rather  than  submit 
to  such  fate,  the  Scottish  people  would  face  a  second 
Bannockburn  or  a  second  Flodden." 

These  few  quotations  from  the  first  utterances  of  Mr. 
Bonar  Law  on  his  arrival  are  sufficient  to  show  how  com- 
plete was  the  understanding  between  him  and  the  Ulster 
people  even  before  the  great  demonstration  of  the  following 
day.  He  had,  as  The  Times  Correspondent  noted,  "  already 
found  favour  with  the  Belfast  crowd.  All  the  way  from 
Larne  by  train  to  Belfast  and  through  Belfast  by  motor- 
car to  Newtownards  and  Mount  Stewart,  his  progress  was 
a  triumph." 

The  remarks  of  the  same  experienced  observer  on  the 
eve  of  the  Balmoral  meeting  are  worth  recording,  especially 
as  his  anticipations  were  amply  fulfilled. 

"  To-morrow's  demonstration,"  he  telegraphed  from 
Belfast,  "  both  in  numbers  and  enthusiasm,  promises  to  be 
the  most  remarkable  ever  seen  in  Ireland.  If  expectations 
are  realised  the  assemblage  of  men  will  be  twice  as  numerous 
as  the  whole  white  population  of  the  Witwatersrand,  whose 
grievances  led  to  the  South  African  War,  and  they  will 
represent  a  community  greater  in  numbers  than  the  white 
population  of  South  Africa  as  a  whole.  Unless  all  the 
signs  are  misleading,  it  will  be  the  demonstration  of  a 
community  in  the  deadliest  earnest.  By  the  Protestant 
cornmunity  of  Ulster,  Home  Rule  is  regarded  as  a  menace 
to  their  faith,  to  their  material  well-being  and  prosperity, 
and  to  their  freedom  and  national  traditions,   and  thus 


1912]  THE   BALMORAL   MEETING  83 

all  the  most  potent  motives  which  in  history  have  stirred 
men  to  their  greatest  efforts  are  here  in  operation." 

No  written  description,  unless  by  the  pen  of  some  gifted 
imaginative  writer,  could  convey  any  true  impression  of 
the  scenes  that  were  witnessed  the  following  day  in  the 
Show  Ground  at  Balmoral  and  the  roads  leading  to  it  from 
the  heart  of  the  city.  The  photographs  published  at  the 
time  give  some  idea  of  the  apparently  unbounded  ocean 
of  earnest,  upturned  faces,  closely  packed  round  the  several 
platforms,  and  stretching  away  far  into  a  dim  and  distant 
background  ;  but  even  they  could  not  record  the  impressive 
stillness  of  the  vast  multitude,  its  orderliness,  which  required 
the  presence  of  not  a  single  policeman,  its  spirit  of  almost 
religious  solemnity  which  struck  every  observant  onlooker. 
No  profusion  of  superlative  adjectives  can  avail  to  re- 
produce such  scenes,  any  more  than  words,  no  matter  how 
skilfully  chosen,  can  convey  the  tone  of  a  violin  in  the 
hands  of  a  master.  Even  the  mere  number  of  those  who 
took  part  in  the  demonstration  cannot  be  guessed  with 
any  real  accuracy.  There  was  a  procession  of  men,  whose 
fine  physique  and  military  smartness  were  noticed  by 
visitors  from  England,  which  was  reported  to  have  taken 
three  hours  to  pass  a  given  point  marching  in  fours,  and 
was  estimated  to  be  not  less  than  100,000  strong,  while 
those  who  went  independently  to  the  ground  or  crowded 
the  route  were  reckoned  to  be  at  least  as  many  more.  The 
Correspondent  of  The  Times  declared  that  "  it  was  hardly 
by  hyperbole  that  Sir  Edward  Carson  claimed  that  it  was 
one  of  the  largest  assemblies  in  the  history  of  the  world." 

But  the  moral  effect  of  such  gatherings  is  not  to  be 
gauged  by  numbers  alone.  The  demeanour  of  the  people, 
which  no  organisation  or  stage  management  could  in- 
fluence, impressed  the  English  journalists  and  Members  of 
Parliament  even  more  than  the  gigantic  scale  of  the 
demonstration.  There  was  not  a  trace  of  the  picnic  spirit. 
There  was  no  drunkenness,  no  noisy  buffoonery,  no  un- 
seemly behaviour.  The  Ulster  habit  of  combining  politics 
and  prayer — which  was  not  departed  from  at  Balmoral, 
where  the  proceedings  were  opened  by  the  Primate  of 


84        "  WHAT   ANSWER  FROM  THE   NORTH  ?  " 

All  Ireland  and  the  Moderator  of  the  Presbyterian  Church — 
was  jeered  at  by  people  who  never  witnessed  an  Ulster 
loyalist  meeting  ;  but  the  Editor  of  The  Observer,  himself 
a  Roman  Catholic,  remarked  with  more  insight  that  "  the 
Protestant  mind  does  not  use  prayer  simply  as  part  of  a 
parade  ;  "  and  The  Times  Correspondent,  who  has  already 
been  more  than  once  quoted,  was  struck  by  the  fervour 
with  which  at  Balmoral  "  the  whole  of  the  vast  gathering 
joined  in  singing  the  90th  Psalm,"  and  he  added  the  very 
just  comment  that  "it  is  the  custom  in  Ulster  to  mark  in 
this  solemn  manner  the  serious  nature  of  the  issue  when 
the  Union  is  the  question,  as  something  different  from 
a  question  of  mere  party  politics." 

The  spectacular  aspect  of  the  demonstration  was  ad- 
mirably managed.  A  saluting  point  was  so  arranged  that 
the  procession,  on  entering  the  enclosure,  could  divide  into 
two  columns,  one  passing  each  side  of  a  small  pavilion 
where  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  Sir  Edward  Carson,  Lord  London- 
derry, and  Mr.  Walter  Long  stood  to  take  the  salute 
before  proceeding  to  the  stand  which  held  the  principal 
platform  for  the  delivery  of  the  speeches.  In  the  centre  of 
the  ground  was  a  signalling-tower  with  a  flagstaff  90  feet 
high,  on  which  a  Union  Jack  measuring  48  feet  by  25  and 
said  to  be  the  largest  ever  woven,  was  broken  at  the  moment 
when  the  Resolution  against  Home  Rule  was  put  to  the 
meeting. 

Mr.  Bonar  Law,  visibly  moved  by  the  scene  before  him, 
made  a  speech  that  profoundly  affected  his  audience, 
although  it  was  characteristically  free  from  rhetorical 
display.  A  recent  incident  in  Dublin,  where  the  sight  of 
the  British  Flag  flying  within  view  of  a  Nationalist  meeting 
had  been  denounced  as  "an  intolerable  insult,"  supplied 
him,  when  he  compared  it  with  the  spectacle  presented 
by  the  meeting,  with  an  apt  illustration  of  the  contrast 
between  "  the  two  nations  "  in  Ireland — the  loyal  and  the 
disloyal.  He  told  the  Ulstermen  that  he  had  come  to 
them  as  the  leader  of  the  Unionist  Party  to  give  them  the 
assurance  that  "  that  party  regard  your  cause,  not  as  yours 
alone,  nor  as  ours  alone,  but  as  the  cause  of  the  Empire  "  ; 
the  meeting,  which  he  had  expected  to  be  a  great  gathering 


1912]  BONAR   LAW'S   GREAT   SPEECH  85 

but  which  far  exceeded  his  expectation,  proved  that 
Ulster's  hostihty  to  Home  Rule,  far  from  having  slackened, 
as  enemies  had  alleged,  had  increased  and  solidified  with 
the  passing  years  ;  they  were  men  "  animated  by  a  unity 
of  purpose,  by  a  fixity  of  resolution  which  nothing  can 
shake  and  which  must  prove  irresistible,"  to  whom  he 
would  apply  Cromwell's  words  to  his  Ironsides  :  "  You  are 
men  who  know  what  you  are  fighting  for,  and  love  what 
you  know."  Then,  after  an  analysis  of  the  practical 
evils  that  Home  Rule  would  engender  and  the  benefits 
which  legislative  union  secured,  he  again  emphasised  the 
lack  of  mandate  for  the  Government  policy.  His  hearers, 
he  said,  "  knew  the  shameful  story  "  :  how  the  Radicals 
had  twice  failed  to  obtain  the  sanction  of  the  British 
people  for  Home  Rule,  "  and  now  for  the  third  time  they 
were  trying  to  carry  it  not  only  without  the  sanction,  but 
against  the  will,  of  the  British  people." 

The  peroration  which  followed  made  an  irresistible  appeal 
to  a  people  always  mindful  of  the  glories  of  the  relief  of 
Derry.  Mr.  Bonar  Law  warned  them  that  the  Ministerial 
majority  in  the  House  of  Commons,  "  now  cemented  by 
£400  a  year,"  could  not  be  broken  up,  but  would  have 
their  own  way.     He  therefore  said  to  them  : 

"  With  all  solemnity — you  must  trust  in  yourselves. 
Once  again  you  hold  the  pass — the  pass  for  the  Empire. 
You  are  a  besieged  city.  The  timid  have  left  you  ;  your 
Lundys  have  betrayed  you  ;  but  you  have  closed  your 
gates.  The  Government  have  erected  by  their  Parliament 
Act  a  boom  against  you  to  shut  you  off  from  the  help  of 
the  British  people.  You  will  burst  that  boom.  That  help 
will  come,  and  when  the  crisis  is  over  men  will  say  to  you 
in  words  not  unlike  those  used  by  Pitt^ — ^you  have  saved 
yourselves  by  yom*  exertions  and  you  will  save  the  Empire 
by  your  example." 

The  overwhelming  ovation  with  which  Sir  Edward 
Carson  was  received  upon  taking  the  president's  chair  at 
the  chief  platform,  in  the  absence  through  illness  of  the 
Duke  of  Abercorn,  proved  that  he  had  already  won  the 
confidence  and  the   affection  of  the  Ulster  people  to   a 


86        "WHAT  ANSWER  FROM  THE   NORTH?" 

degree  that  seemed  to  leave  little  room  for  growth,  although 
every  subsequent  appearance  he  made  among  them  in  the 
years  that  lay  ahead  seemed  to  add  intensity  to  their 
demonstrations  of  personal  devotion.  The  most  dramatic 
moment  at  Balmoral — if  for  once  the  word  so  hackneyed 
and  misused  by  journalists  may  be  given  its  true  significa- 
tion— the  most  dramatic  moment  was  when  the  Ulster 
leader  and  the  leader  of  the  whole  Unionist  Party  each 
grasped  the  other's  hand  in  view  of  the  assembled  multi- 
tude, as  though  formally  ratifying  a  compact  made  thus 
publicly  on  the  eve  of  battle.  It  was  the  consummation 
of  the  purpose  of  this  assembly  of  the  Unionist  hosts  on 
Ulster  soil,  and  gave  assurance  of  unity  of  aim  and  un- 
divided command  in  the  coming  struggle. 

Of  the  other  speeches  delivered,  many  of  them  of  a  high 
quality,  especially,  perhaps,  those  of  Lord  Hugh  Cecil, 
Sir  Robert  Finlay,  and  Mr.  Scott  Dickson,  it  is  enough  to 
say  that  they  all  conveyed  the  same  message  of  encourage- 
ment to  Ulster,  the  same  promise  of  undeviating  support. 
One  detail,  however,  deserves  mention,  because  it  shows 
the  direction  in  which  men's  thoughts  were  then  moving. 
Mr.  Walter  Long,  whose  great  services  to  the  cause  of 
the  Union  procured  him  a  welcome  second  in  warmth  to 
that  of  no  other  leader,  after  thanking  Londonderry  and 
Carson  "  for  the  great  lead  they  have  given  us  in  recent 
difficult  weeks  " — an  allusion  to  the  Churchill  incident 
that  was  not  lost  on  the  audience — added  with  a  blunt 
directness  characteristic  of  the  speaker :  "If  they  are 
going  to  put  Lord  Londonderry  and  Sir  Edward  Carson 
into  the  dock,  they  will  have  to  find  one  large  enough  to 
hold  the  whole  Unionist  Party." 

The  Balmoral  demonstration  was  recognised  on  all  sides 
as  one  of  the  chief  landmarks  in  the  Ulster  Movement. 
The  Craigavon  policy  was  not  only  reaffirmed  with  greater 
emphasis  than  before  by  the  people  of  Ulster  themselves, 
but  it  received  the  deliberate  endorsement  of  the  Unionist 
Party  in  England  and  Scotland.  Moreover,  as  Mr.  Long's 
speech  explicitly  promised,  and  Mr.  Bonar  Law's  speech 
unmistakably  implied,  British  support  was  not  to  be 
dependent   on  Ulster's   opposition  to  Home  Rule  being 


1912]  PUBLIC   OPINION  WAKING   UP  87 

kept  within  strictly  legal  limits.  Indeed,  it  had  become 
increasingly  evident  that  opposition  so  limited  must  be 
Impotent,  since,  as  Mr.  Bonar  Law  pointed  out,  Ministers 
and  their  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons  were  in 
Mr.  Redmond's  pocket,  and  had  no  choice  but  to  "  toe 
the  line,"  while  the  "  boom  "  which  they  had  erected  by 
the  Parliament  Act  cut  off  Ulster  from  access  to  the 
British  constituencies,  unless  that  boom  could  be  burst 
as  the  boom  across  the  Foyle  was  broken  by  the  Mountjoy 
in  1689.  The  Unionist  leader  had  warned  the  Ulstermen 
that  in  these  circumstances  they  must  expect  nothing 
from  Parliament,  but  must  trust  in  themselves.  They 
did  not  mistake  his  meaning,  and  they  were  quite  ready 
to  take  his  advice. 

Coming,  as  it  did,  two  days  before  the  introduction  of 
the  Government's  Bill,  the  Balmoral  demonstration 
profoundly  influenced  opinion  in  the  country.  The 
average  Englishman,  when  his  political  party  is  in  a 
minority,  damns  the  Government,  shrugs  his  shoulders, 
and  goes  on  his  way,  not  rejoicing  indeed,  but  with 
apathetic  resignation  till  the  pendulum  swings  again.  He 
now  awoke  to  the  fact  that  the  Ulstermen  meant  business. 
He  realised  that  a  political  crisis  of  the  first  magnitude 
was  visible  on  the  horizon.  The  vague  talk  about  "  civil 
war  "  began  to  look  as  if  it  might  have  something  in  it, 
and  it  was  evident  that  the  provisions  of  the  forthcoming 
Bill,  about  which  there  had  been  so  much  eager  anticipa- 
tion, would  be  of  quite  secondary  importance  since  neither 
the  Cabinet  nor  the  House  of  Commons  would  have  the 
last  word. 

Supporters  of  the  Government  in  the  Press  could  think 
of  nothing  better  to  do  in  these  circumstances  than  to 
pour  out  abuse,  occasionally  varied  by  ridicule,  on  the 
Unionist  leaders,  of  which  Sir  Edward  Carson  came  in 
for  the  most  generous  portion.  He  was  by  turns  every- 
thing that  was  bad,  dangerous,  and  absurd,  from  Mephis- 
topheles  to  a  madman.  "  F.  C.  G."  summarised  the 
Balmoral  meeting  pictorially  in  a  Westminster  Gazette 
cartoon  as  a  costermonger's  donkey-cart  in  which  Carson, 
Londonderry,  and  Bonar  Law,  refreshed  by  "  Orangeade," 
7 


88        "  WHAT   ANSWER   FROM   THE   NORTH  ?  " 

took  "  an  Easter  Jaunt  in  Ulster,"  and  other  caricaturists 
used  their  pencils  with  less  humour  and  more  malice  with 
the  same  object  of  belittling  the  demonstration  with 
ridicule.  But  ridicule  is  not  so  potent  a  weapon  in 
England  or  in  Ulster  as  it  is  said  to  be  in  France.  It  did 
nothing  to  weaken  the  Ulster  cause  ;  it  even  strengthened 
it  in  some  ways.  It  was  about  this  time  that  hostile 
AM'iters  began  to  refer  to  "  King  Carson,"  and  to  represent 
him  as  exercising  regal  sway  over  his  "  subjects  "  in 
Ulster.  Those  "  subjects  "  were  delighted  ;  they  took  it 
as  a  compliment  to  their  leader's  position  and  power,  and 
did  not  in  the  least  resent  the  role  assigned  to  themselves. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  did  resent  very  hotly  the  vulgar 
insolence  often  levelled  at  their  "  Sir  Edward."  He 
himself  was  always  quite  indifferent  to  it,  sometimes  even 
amused  by  it.  On  one  occasion,  when  something  particu- 
larly outrageous  had  appeared  with  reference  to  him  in 
some  Radical  paper,  he  delighted  a  public  meeting  by 
solemnly  reading  the  passage,  and  when  the  angry  cries 
of  "  Shame,  shame  "  had  subsided,  saying  with  a  smile  : 
"  This  sort  of  thing  is  only  the  manure  that  fertilises  my 
reputation  with  you  who  know  me." 

And  that  was  true.  If  Home  Rulers,  whether  in  Ireland 
or  in  Great  Britain,  ever  seriously  thought  of  conciliating 
Ulster,  as  Mr.  Redmond  professed  to  desire,  they  never 
made  a  greater  mistake  than  in  saying  and  writing  insulting 
things  about  Carson.  It  only  endeared  him  more  and 
more  to  his  followers,  and  it  intensified  the  bitterness  of 
their  feeling  against  the  Nationalists  and  all  their  works. 
An  almost  equally  short-sighted  error  on  the  part  of 
hostile  critics  was  the  idea  that  the  attitude  of  Ulster  as 
exhibited  at  Craigavon  and  Balmoral  should  be  repre- 
sented as  mere  bluster  and  bluff,  to  which  the  only  proper 
reply  was  contempt.  There  never  was  anything  further 
removed  from  the  truth,  as  anyone  ought  to  have  known 
who  had  the  smallest  acquaintance  with  Irish  history  or 
with  the  character  of  the  race  that  had  supplied  the 
backbone  of  Washington's  army  ;  but,  if  there  had  been 
at  any  time  an  element  of  bluff  in  their  attitude,  their 
contemptuous  critics  took  the  surest  means  of  converting 


1912]    VULGAR  ABUSE  OF  CARSON  AND  ULSTER    89 

it  into  grim  earnestness  of  purpose.  Mr.  Redmond  himself 
was  ill-advised  enough  to  set  an  example  in  this  respect. 
In  an  article  published  by  Reynold's  Newspaper  in  January- 
he  had  scoffed  at  the  "  stupid,  hollow,  and  unpatriotic 
bello wings "  of  the  Loyalists  in  Belfast.  Some  few 
opponents  had  enough  sense  to  take  a  different  line  in 
their  comments  on  Balmoral.  One  article  in  particular 
which  appeared  in  The  Star  on  the  day  of  the  demon- 
stration attracted  much  attention  for  this  reason. 

"  We  have  never  yielded,"  it  said,  "  to  the  temptation 
to  deride  or  to  belittle  the  resistance  of  Ulster  to  Home 
Rule.  .  .  .  The  subjugation  of  Protestant  Ulster  by  force 
is  one  of  those  things  that  do  not  happen  in  our  politics. 
...  It  is,  we  know,  a  popular  delusion  that  Ulster  is  a 
braggart  whose  words  are  empty  bluff.  We  are  convinced 
that  Ulster  means  what  she  says,  and  that  she  will  make 
good  every  one  of  her  warnings." 

The  Star  went  on  to  implore  Liberals  not  to  be  driven 
"  into  an  attitude  of  bitter  hostility  to  the  Ulster  Pro- 
testants," with  whom  it  declared  they  had  much  in 
common. 

After  Balmoral  there  was  certainly  more  disposition 
than  before  on  the  part  of  Liberal  Home  Rulers  to  acknow- 
ledge the  sincerity  of  Ulster  and  the  gravity  of  the  position 
created  by  her  opposition,  and  this  disposition  showed 
itself  in  the  debates  on  the  Bill ;  but,  speaking  generally, 
the  warning  of  The  Star  was  disregarded  by  its  political 
adherents,  and  its  neglect  contributed  not  a  little  to  the 
embitterment  of  the  controversy. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

THE   EXCLUSION   OF   ULSTER 

Within  forty-eight  hours  of  the  Balmoral  meeting  the 
Prime  Minister  moved  for  leave  to  introduce  the  third 
Home  Rule  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Carson 
immediately  stated  the  Ulster  case  in  a  powerful  speech 
which  left  no  room  for  doubt  that,  while  every  clause  in 
the  Bill  would  be  contested,  it  was  the  setting  up  of  an 
executive  administration  responsible  to  a  Parliament  in 
Dublin — that  is  to  say,  the  central  principle  of  the  measure — 
that  would  be  most  strenuously  opposed. 

There  is  no  occasion  here  to  explain  in  detail  the 
proposals  contained  in  Mr.  Asquith's  Home  Rule  Bill. 
They  form  part  of  the  general  history  of  the  period,  and 
are  accessible  to  all  who  care  to  examine  them.  Our 
concern  is  with  the  endeavour  of  Ulster  to  prevent,  if 
possible,  the  passage  of  the  Bill  to  the  Statute-book,  and, 
if  that  should  prove  impracticable,  to  prevent  its  enforce- 
ment "  in  those  districts  of  which  they  had  control." 
But  one  or  two  points  that  were  made  in  the  course  of  the 
debates  which  occupied  Parliament  for  the  rest  of  the 
year  1912  claim  a  moment's  notice  in  their  bearing  on  the 
subject  in  hand. 

Mr.  Bonar  Law  lost  no  time  in  fully  redeeming  the 
promises  he  made  at  Balmoral.  Challenged  to  repeat  in 
Parliament  the  charges  he  had  made  against  the  Govern- 
ment in  Ulster,  he  not  only  repeated  them  with  emphasis, 
but  by  closely-knit  reasoning  justified  them  with  chapter 
and  verse.  As  to  Balmoral,  "  it  really  was  not  like  a 
political  demonstration  ;  it  was  the  expression  of  the  soul 
of  a  people."  He  declared  that  "  the  gulf  between  the 
two  peoples  in  Ireland  was  really  far  wider  than  the  gulf 
between    Ireland    and    Great    Britain."     He    then    dealt 

90 


1912]  HOME   RULE   BILL   INTRODUCED  91 

specifically  with  the  threatened  resistance  of  Ulster. 
"  These  people  in  Ulster,"  he  said,  "  are  under  no  illusion. 
They  know  they  cannot  fight  the  British  Army.  The 
people  of  Ulster  know  that,  if  the  soldiers  receive  orders 
to  shoot,  it  will  be  their  duty  to  obey.  They  will  have 
no  ill-will  against  them  for  obeying.  But  they  are  ready, 
in  what  they  believe  to  be  the  cause  of  justice  and  liberty, 
to  lay  down  their  lives.  How  are  you  going  to  overcome 
that  resistance  ?  Do  Honourable  Members  believe  that 
any  Prime  Minister  could  give  orders  to  shoot  down  men 
whose  only  crime  is  that  they  refuse  to  be  driven  out  of 
our  community  and  be  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  British 
citizenship  ?  The  thing  is  impossible.  All  your  talk 
about  details,  the  union  of  hearts  and  the  rest  of  it,  is  a 
sham.  This  is  a  reality.  It  is  a  rock,  and  on  that  rock 
this  Bill  will  inevitably  make  shipwreck." 

The  Unionist  leader  then  made  a  searching  exposure  of 
the  traffic  and  bargaining  between  the  Cabinet  and  the 
Nationalists  by  which  the  support  of  the  latter  had  been 
bought  for  a  Budget  which  they  hated,  the  price  paid 
being  the  Premier's  improper  advice  to  the  Crown, 
leading  to  the  mutilation  of  the  Constitution  ;  the  acknow- 
ledgment in  the  preamble  to  the  Parliament  Act  that  an 
immediate  reform  of  the  Second  Chamber  was  a  "  debt  of 
honour  "  ;  the  omission  to  redeem  that  debt,  which  had 
provided  a  new  proverb — "  Lying  as  a  preamble  "  ;  and, 
finally,  the  determination  to  carry  Home  Rule  after 
deliberately  keeping  it  out  of  sight  during  the  elections. 
The  Prime  Minister's  "  debt  of  honour  must  wait  until 
he  has  paid  his  debt  of  shame  "  ;  and  the  latter  debt  was 
being  paid  by  the  proposals  they  were  then  debating.  If 
those  proposals  had  been  submitted  to  the  electors,  "  there 
would  be  a  difference,"  said  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  "  between 
the  Unionists  in  England  and  the  Unionists  in  Ireland. 
Now  there  is  none.  We  can  imagine  nothing  which  the 
Unionists  in  Ireland  can  do  which  will  not  be  justified 
against  a  trick  of  this  kind." 

Dissatisfaction  with  the  financial  clauses  of  the  Bill  was 
expressed  at  once  by  the  General  Council  of  County 
Councils    in    Ireland,    a    purely    Nationalist    body ;    but 


92  THE   EXCLUSION   OF   ULSTER 

on  the  23rd  of  April  a  Nationalist  Convention  in 
Dublin,  under  the  influence  of  Mr.  Redmond's  oratory, 
accepted  the  whole  of  the  Government's  proposals  with 
enthusiasm.  The  first  and  second  readings  of  the  Bill 
were  duly  carried  by  the  normal  Government  majority  of 
about  a  hundred  Liberal,  Labour,  and  Irish  Nationalist 
votes,  and  the  committee  stage  opened  on  the  11th  of 
June.  On  that  day  an  amendment  was  down  for  debate 
which  required  the  most  careful  consideration  by  the 
representatives  of  Ulster,  since  their  attitude  now  might 
have  an  important  bearing  on  their  future  policy,  and  a 
false  step  at  this  stage  might  easily  prove  embarrassing 
later  on.  The  author  of  this  amendment  was  Mr.  Agar- 
Robartes,  a  Cornish  Liberal  Member,  whose  proposal  was 
to  exclude  the  four  counties  of  Antrim,  Derry,  Down,  and 
Armagh  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  proposed  Irish 
Parliament,  a  gratifying  proof  that  Craigavon  and  Balmoral 
were  bearing  fruit. 

A  conference  of  Ulster  Members  and  Peers,  and  some 
English  Members  closely  identified  with  Irish  affairs,  of 
whom  Mr.  Walter  Long  was  one,  met  at  Londonderry 
House  before  the  sitting  of  the  House  on  the  11th  of  June 
to  decide  what  course  to  take  on  this  proposal. 

It  was  not  surprising  to  find  that  there  were  sharp 
differences  of  opinion  among  those  present,  for  there  were 
obvious  objections  to  supporting  the  amendment  and 
equally  obvious  objections  to  voting  against  it.  The 
opposition  of  Ulster  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
had  been  directed  against  Home  Rule  for  any  part  of  Ire- 
land and  in  any  shape  or  form.  No  suggestion  had  ever 
been  made  by  any  of  her  spokesmen  that  the  Protestant 
North,  or  any  part  of  it,  should  be  dealt  with  separately 
from  the  rest  of  the  island,  although  Carson  and  others 
had  pointed  out  that  all  the  arguments  in  support  of 
Home  Rule  were  equally  valid  for  treating  Ulster  as  a 
unit.  There  were  both  economic  and  administrative 
difficulties  in  such  a  scheme  which  were  sufficiently  obvious, 
though  by  no  means  insuperable  ;  but  what  weighed  far 
more  heavily  in  the  minds  of  the  Ulster  members  was  the 
anticipation  that  their  acceptance  of  the  proposal  would 


1912]      MEETING  AT   LONDONDERRY   HOUSE  93 

probably  be  represented  by  enemies  as  a  desertion  of 
all  the  Irish  Loyalists  outside  the  four  counties  named  in 
the  amendment,  with  whom  there  was  in  every  part  of 
Ulster  the  most  powerful  sentiment  of  solidarity.  The 
idea  of  taking  any  action  apart  from  these  friends  and 
associates,  and  of  adopting  a  policy  that  might  seem  to 
imply  the  abandonment  of  their  opposition  to  the  main 
principle  of  the  Bill,  was  one  that  could  not  be  entertained 
except  under  the  most  compelling  necessity. 

But,  had  not  that  necessity  now  arisen  ?  The  Ulster 
members  had  to  keep  in  view  the  ultimate  policy  to  which 
they  were  already  committed.  That  policy,  as  laid  down 
at  Craigavon,  was  to  take  over,  in  the  event  of  the  Home 
Rule  Bill  being  carried,  the  government  "  of  those  districts 
which  they  could  control "  in  trust  for  the  Imperial 
Parliament,  and  to  resist  by  force  if  necessary  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Dublin  jurisdiction  over  those  districts. 
The  policy  of  resistance  was  always  recognised  as  being 
strictly  limited  in  area  ;  no  one  ever  supposed  that  Ulster 
could  forcibly  resist  Home  Rule  being  set  up  in  the  south 
and  west.  The  likelihood  of  failure  to  bring  about  a  dis- 
solution before  the  Bill  became  law  had  to  be  faced,  and 
if  no  General  Election  took  place  there  would  be  no  alterna- 
tive to  resistance.  If,  then,  it  were  decided  to  vote  against 
an  amendment  offering  salvation  to  the  four  most  loyalist 
counties,  what  would  be  their  position  if  ultimately  driven 
to  take  up  arms  ?  Except  as  to  a  matter  of  detail  con- 
cerning the  precise  area  proposed  to  be  excluded  from  the 
Bill,  would  they  not  be  told  that  they  were  fighting  for 
what  they  might  have  had  by  legislation,  and  what  they 
had  deliberately  refused  to  accept  ?  And  if  they  so  acted, 
could  they  expect  not  to  forfeit  the  support  of  the  great 
and  growing  volume  of  public  opinion  which  now  sym- 
pathised with  Ulster  ?  They  could  not,  of  course,  secure 
themselves  against  malicious  misrepresentation  of  their 
motives,  but  the  Ulster  members  sincerely  believed,  and 
many  in  the  South  shared  the  opinion,  that  if  it  came  to 
the  worst  they  could  be  of  more  use  to  the  Southern 
Unionists  outside  a  Dublin  Parliament  than  as  members 
of  it,  where  they  would  be  an  impotent  minority.    Moreover, 


94  THE   EXCLUSION  OF  ULSTER 

it  was  perfectly  understood  that  Ulster  was  resolved  in 
any  case  not  to  enter  a  legislature  in  College  Green, 
and  there  would,  therefore,  be  no  more  "  desertion  "  of 
Unionists  outside  the  excluded  area  if  the  exclusion  were 
effected  by  an  amendment  to  the  Bill,  than  if  it  were  the 
result  of  what  Mr.  Bonar  Law  had  called  "  trusting  to 
themselves." 

The  considerations  thus  briefly  summarised  were 
thoroughly  discussed  in  all  their  bearings  at  the  conference 
at  Londonderry  House.  It  was  one  of  many  occasions 
when  Sir  Edward  Carson's  colleagues  had  an  opportunity 
of  perceiving  how  his  penetrating  intellect  explored  the 
intricate  windings  of  a  complicated  political  problem, 
weighing  all  the  alternatives  of  procedure  with  a  clear 
insight  into  the  appearance  that  any  line  of  conduct  would 
present  to  other  and  perhaps  hostile  minds,  calculating 
like  a  chess-master  move  and  counter-move  far  ahead  of 
the  present,  and,  while  adhering  undeviatingly  to  principle, 
using  the  judgment  of  a  consummate  strategist  to  decide 
upon  the  action  to  be  taken  at  any  given  moment.  He 
had  an  astonishing  faculty  of  discarding  everything  that 
was  unessential  and  fastening  on  the  thing  that  really 
mattered  in  any  situation.  His  strength  in  counsel  lay 
in  the  rare  combination  of  these  qualities  of  the  trained 
lawyer  with  the  gift  of  intuition,  which  women  claim  as 
their  distinguishing  characteristic  ;  and  it  often  extorted 
from  Nationalists  the  melancholy  admission  that  if  Carson 
had  been  on  their  side  their  cause  would  have  triumphed 
long  ago. 

His  advice  now  was  that  the  Agar-Robartes  amendment 
should  be  supported  ;  and,  although  some  of  those  present 
required  a  good  deal  of  persuasion,  it  was  ultimately 
decided  unanimously  that  this  course  should  be  followed. 
The  wisdom  of  the  decision  was  never  afterwards  questioned, 
and,  indeed,  was  abundantly  confirmed  by  subsequent 
events. 

Mr.  Agar-Robartes  moved  his  amendment  the  same 
afternoon,  summarising  his  argument  in  the  dictum, 
denied  by  Mr.  William  Redmond,  that  "  Orange  bitters 
will   not   mix   with   Irish   whisky."     The   debate,    which 


1912]       MR.   AGAR-ROBARTES'S   AMENDMENT  95 

lasted  three  days,  was  the  most  important  that  took  place 
in  committee  on  the  Bill,  for  in  the  course  of  it  the  whole 
Ulster  question  was  exhaustively  discussed.  Sir  Edward 
Grey  and  Mr.  Churchill  had  thrown  out  hints  in  the  second 
reading  debate  that  the  Government  might  do  something 
to  meet  the  Ulster  case.  The  Prime  Minister  was  now 
pressed  to  say  what  these  hints  meant.  Had  the  Govern- 
ment any  policy  in  regard  to  Ulster  ?  Had  they  considered 
how  they  could  deal  with  the  threatened  resistance  ? 
Mr.  Bonar  Law  told  the  Government  that  they  must  know 
that,  if  they  employed  troops  to  coerce  the  Ulster  Loyalists, 
Ministers  who  gave  the  order  "  would  run  a  greater  risk 
of  being  lynched  in  London  than  the  Loyalists  of  Ulster 
would  run  of  being  shot  in  Belfast."  Every  argument  in 
favour  of  Home  Rule  was,  he  said,  equally  cogent  against 
subjecting  Ulster  to  Home  Rule  contrary  to  her  own 
desire.  If  the  South  of  Ireland  objected  to  being  governed 
from  Westminster,  the  North  of  Ireland  quite  as  strongly 
objected  to  being  ruled  from  Dublin.  If  England,  as  was 
alleged,  was  incapable  of  governing  Ireland  according  to 
Irish  ideas,  the  Nationalists  were  fully  as  incapable  of 
governing  the  northern  counties  according  to  Ulster  ideas. 
If  Ireland,  with  only  one-fifteenth  of  the  population  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  had  a  right  to  choose  its  own  form 
of  government,  by  what  equity  could  the  same  right  be 
denied  to  Ulster,  with  one-fourth  of  the  population  of 
Ireland  ? 

As  had  been  anticipated  at  Londonderry  House,  Mr. 
Asquith  and  some  of  his  followers  did  their  best  to  drive 
a  wedge  between  the  Ulstermen  and  the  Southern  Unionists, 
by  contending  that  the  former,  in  supporting  the  amend- 
ment, were  deserting  their  friends.  Mr.  Balfour  declared 
in  answer  to  this  that  "  nothing  could  relieve  Unionists  in 
the  rest  of  Ireland  except  the  defeat  of  the  measure  as  a 
whole  "  ;  and  a  crushing  reply  was  given  by  Mr.  J.  H. 
Campbell  and  Mr.  Walter  Guinness,  both  of  whom  were 
Unionists  from  the  South  of  Ireland.  Mr.  Guinness 
frankly  acknowledged  that  "  it  was  the  duty  of  Ulster 
members  to  take  this  opportunity  of  trying  to  secure  for 
their  constituents  freedom  from  this  iniquitous  measure. 


96  THE   EXCLUSION   OF   ULSTER 

It  would  be  merely  a  dog-in-the-manger  policy  for  those 
who  lived  outside  Ulster  to  grudge  relief  to  their  co- 
religionists merely  because  they  could  not  share  it.  Such 
self-denial  on  Ulster's  part  would  in  no  way  help  them  (the 
Southerners)  and  it  would  only  injure  their  compatriots 
in  the  North." 

Sir  Edward  Carson,  in  supporting  the  amendment,  in- 
sisted that  "  Ulster  was  not  asking  for  anything  "  except 
to  be  left  within  the  Imperial  Constitution  ;  she  "  had  not 
demanded  any  separate  Parliament."  He  accepted  the 
"  basic  principle  "  of  the  amendment,  but  would  not  be 
content  with  the  four  counties  which  alone  it  proposed  to 
exclude  from  the  Bill.  He  only  accepted  it,  however,  on 
two  assumptions— first,  that  the  Bill  was  to  become  law ; 
and,  second,  that  it  was  to  be,  as  Mr.  Asquith  had  assured 
them,  part  of  a  federal  system  for  the  United  Kingdom. 
If  the  first  steps  were  being  taken  to  construct  a  federal 
system,  there  was  no  precedent  for  coercing  Ulster  to 
form  part  of  a  federal  unit  which  she  refused  to  join.  He 
had  been  Solicitor-General  when  the  Act  establishing  the 
Commonwealth  of  Australia  was  being  discussed,  and  it 
never  would  have  passed,  he  declared,  "  if  every  single 
clause  had  not  been  agreed  to  by  every  single  one  of  the 
communities  concerned."  Ministers  were  always  basing 
their  Irish  policy  on  Dominion  analogies,  but  could  anyone, 
Carson  asked,  imagine  the  Imperial  Government  sending 
troops  to  compel  the  Transvaal  or  New  South  Wales  to 
come  into  a  federal  system  against  their  will  ? 

The  arguments  in  favour  of  the  amendment  were  also 
stated  with  uncompromising  force  by  Mr.  William  Moore, 
Mr.  Charles  Craig,  and  his  brother  Captain  James  Craig, 
the  last-mentioned  taking  up  a  challenge  thrown  down 
by  Mr.  Birrell  in  a  maladroit  speech  which  had  expressed 
doubt  as  to  the  reality  of  the  danger  to  be  apprehended 
in  Ulster.  Captain  Craig  said  they  would  immediately 
take  steps  in  Ulster  to  convince  the  Chief  Secretary  of 
their  sincerity.  Lord  Hugh  Cecil,  in  an  outspoken  speech, 
greatly  to  the  taste  of  English  Unionists,  "  had  no  hesitation 
in  saying  that  Ulster  would  be  perfectly  right  in  resisting, 
and  he  hoped  she  would  be  successful." 


1912]  AVOIDING  A   SNARE  97 

In  the  division  on  Mr.  Agar-Robartes's  amendment  the 
Government  majority  fell  to  sixty-nine,  both  the  "  Tellers  " 
being  usual  supporters  of  the  Ministry.  Mr.  F.  E.  Smith, 
in  a  vigorous  speech  to  the  Belfast  Orangemen  on  the  12th 
of  July,  declared  that  "  on  the  part  of  the  Government  the 
discussion  (on  Mr.  Agar-Robartes's  amendment)  was  a  trap. 
.  .  .  The  Government  hoped  that  Ulster  would  declme 
the  amendment  in  order  that  the  Coalition  might  protest 
to  the  constituencies  :  '  We  offered  Ulster  exclusion  and 
Ulster  refused  exclusion— where  is  the  grievance  of  Ulster  ? 
where  her  justification  for  armed  revolt  ?  '  "  The  snare 
was  avoided  ;  but  the  debate  was  a  landmark  in  the 
movement,  for  it  was  then  that  the  spokesmen  of  Ulster 
for  the  first  time  publicly  accepted  the  idea  of  separate 
treatment  for  themselves  as  a  possible  alternative  policy 
to  the  integral  maintenance  of  the  Union. 

The  Government,  for  their  part,  made  no  response  to 
the  demand  of  Bonar  Law  and  Carson  that  they  should 
declare  their  intentions  for  dealing  with  resistance  in 
Ulster.  It  was  clearly  more  than  ever  necessary  for  the 
Ulstermen  to  "  trust  in  themselves."  The  debates  on  the 
Bill  occupied  Parliament  till  the  end  of  the  year,  and 
beyond  it,  and  great  blocks  of  clauses  were  carried  under 
the  guillotine  closure  without  a  word  of  discussion,  although 
they  were  packed  with  constitutional  points,  many  of 
which  were  of  the  highest  moment.  Over  in  Ulster,  at 
the  same  time,  those  preparations  were  industriously 
carried  forward  which  Captain  Craig  told  the  House  of 
Commons  would  be  necessary  to  cure  the  scepticism  of 
the  Chief  Secretary. 

In  England  and  Scotland,  also.  Unionists  did  their 
utmost  to  make  public  opinion  realise  the  gravity  of  the 
crisis  towards  which  the  country  was  drifting  under  the 
Wait-and-See  Ministry.  Never  before,  probably,  had  so 
many  great  political  meetings  been  held  in  any  year  as 
were  held  in  every  part  of  the  country  in  1912.  With  the 
exception  of  those  that  took  place  in  Ireland,  the  most 
striking  was  a  monster  gathering  at  Blenheim  on  the 
27th  of  July,  which  was  attended  by  delegates  from  every 
Unionist  Association  in  the  United  Kingdom. 


98  THE   EXCLUSION   OF   ULSTER 

A  notable  defeat  of  the  Government  in  a  by-election 
at  Crewe,  news  of  which  reached  the  meeting  while  the 
audience  of  some  fifteen  thousand  people  was  assemblmg, 
was  an  encouraging  sign  of  the  trend  of  opinion  in  the 
country,  and  added  confidence  to  the  note  of  defiance 
that  sounded  in  the  speeches  of  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  Mr.  F.  E. 
Smith,  and  Sir  Edward  Carson. 

The  Unionist  leader  repeated,  with  added  emphasis,  what 
he  had  already  said  in  the  House  of  Commons,  that  he 
could  imagine  no  length  of  resistance  to  which  Ulster 
might  go  in  which  he  and  the  overwhelming  majority  of 
the  British  people  would  not  be  ready  to  give  support. 
He  again  said  that  resistance  would  be  justified  only 
because  the  people  had  not  been  consulted,  and  the 
Government's  policy  was  "  part  of  a  corrupt  parliamentary 
bargain."  He  refused  to  acknowledge  the  right  of  the 
Government  "  to  carry  such  a  Revolution  by  such  means," 
and  as  they  appeared  to  be  resolved  to  do  so,  Mr.  Bonar  Law 
and  the  party  he  led  "  would  use  any  means  to  deprive 
them  of  the  power  they  had  usurped,  and  to  compel 
them  to  face  the  people  they  had  deceived."  Mr.  F.  E. 
Smith  expressed  the  same  thought  in  a  more  epigrammatic 
antithesis  :  "  We  have  come  to  a  clear  issue  between  the 
party  which  says  '  We  will  judge  for  the  democracy,'  and 
the  party  which  says  '  The  democracy  shall  judge  you.'  " 

The  tremendous  enthusiasm  evoked  by  Mr.  Bonar  Law's 
pledge  of  support  to  Ulster,  and  by  Sir  Edward  Carson's 
announcement  that  they  in  Ulster  "  would  shortly  chal- 
lenge the  Government  to  interfere  with  them  if  they  dared, 
and  would  with  equanimity  await  the  result,"  was  a 
sufficient  proof,  if  proof  were  needed,  that  the  intention 
of  the  Ulstermen  to  offer  forcible  resistance  to  Home 
Rule  had  the  whole-hearted  sympathy  and  approval  of 
the  entire  Unionist  party  in  Great  Britain,  whose  repre- 
sentatives from  every  corner  of  the  country  were  assembled 
at  Blenheim. 

Liberals  hoped  and  believed  that  this  promise  of  support 
for  the  "  rebellious  "  attitude  of  Ulster  would  alienate 
British  opinion  from  the  Unionist  party.  The  supporters 
of  the  Government  in  the  Press  daily  proclaimed  that  it 


1912]       MR.   CHURCHILL'S   TURGID   HOMILY  99 

was  doing  so.  When  Parliament  adjourned  for  the  summer 
recess,  at  the  beginning  of  what  journahsts  call  "  the  silly- 
season,"  Mr.  Churchill  published  two  letters  to  a  constituent 
in  Scotland  which  were  intended  to  be  a  crushing  indict- 
ment both  of  Ulster  and  of  her  sympathisers  in  Great 
Britain.  The  Ulster  menace  was  in  his  eyes  nothing  but 
"  melodramatic  stuff,"  and  he  sneeringly  suggested  that 
the  Unionist  leaders  would  be  "  unspeakably  shocked  and 
frightened  "  if  anything  came  of  their  "  foolish  and  wicked 
words."  The  letter  was  lengthy,  and  contained  some 
telling  phrases  such  as  Mr.  Churchill  has  always  been 
skilful  in  coining  ;  but  the  "  turgid  homily — a  mixture  of 
sophistry,  insult,  and  menace,"  as  The  Times  not  unfairly 
described  it,  was  less  effective  than  the  terse  and  simple 
rejoinder  in  which  Mr.  Bonar  Law  pointed  out  that  Mr. 
Churchill's  onslaught  wounded  his  father's  memory  more 
deeply  than  it  touched  his  living  opponents,  since  Lord 
Randolph's  "  incitement  "  of  Ulster  was  at  a  time  when 
Ulster  could  not  be  cast  out  from  the  Union  without  the 
consent  of  the  British  electors. 

Mr.  Churchill's  epistles  to  Scottish  Liberals  started  a 
correspondence  which  reverberated  through  the  Press  for 
weeks,  breaking  the  monotony  of  the  holiday  season ;  but 
they  entirely  failed  in  their  purpose,  which  was  to  break 
the  sympathy  for  Ulster  in  England  and  Scotland.  In 
March  the  Unionists  had  won  a  seat  at  a  by-election  in 
South  Manchester  ;  the  victory  at  Crewe  in  July,  which 
so  cheered  the  gathering  at  Blenheim,  was  followed  by 
still  more  striking  victories  in  North-west  Manchester  in 
August,  and  in  Midlothian — Gladstone's  old  constituency 
— in  September ;  and  perhaps  a  not  less  significant 
indication  of  the  trend  of  opinion  so  far  as  the  Unionist 
party  was  concerned,  was  given  by  the  local  Unionist 
Association  at  Rochdale,  which  promptly  repudiated  its 
selected  candidate  who  had  ventured  to  protest  against 
the  Blenheim  speech  of  the  Unionist  leader.  In  an  analysis 
of  electoral  statistics  published  by  The  Times  on  the 
24th  of  August  it  was  shown  that,  in  thirty-eight  contests 
since  the  General  Election  in  December  1910,  the  Unionists 
had  gained  an  advantage  of  more  than  32,000  votes  over 


100  THE   EXCLUSION   OF  ULSTER 

Liberals.  And  shortly  afterwards,  at  a  dinner  in  London 
to  three  newly  elected  Unionists,  Mr.  Bonar  Law  pointed 
out  that  the  results  of  by-elections,  if  realised  in  the  same 
proportion  all  over  the  country,  would  have  given  a 
substantial  Unionist  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

The  Ulster  people  had,  therefore,  much  to  encourage 
them  at  a  time  when  they  were  preparing  the  most  signifi- 
cant forward  step  in  the  movement,  and  the  most  solemn 
pronouncement  of  their  unfaltering  resolution  never  to 
submit  to  the  Dublin  Parliament — the  signing  of  the 
Ulster  Covenant.  Their  policy  of  resistance,  first  pro- 
pounded at  Craigavon,  reiterated  at  Balmoral,  endorsed 
by  British  sympathisers  at  Blenheim,  and  specifically 
defended  in  Parliament  both  by  Unionist  leaders  like  Mr. 
Bonar  Law  and  Mr.  Long  and  by  prominent  members  of 
the  Unionist  rank  and  file  like  Lord  Hugh  Cecil,  had  won 
the  approval  and  support  of  great  popular  constituencies 
in  Lancashire  and  in  Scotland,  and  had  alienated  no 
section  of  Unionist  opinion  or  of  the  Unionist  Press.  It 
was  in  no  merely  satirical  spirit  that  Carson  wrote  in 
August  that  he  was  grateful  to  Mr.  Churchill  "  for  having 
twice  within  a  few  weeks  done  something  to  focus  public 
opinion  on  the  stern  realities  of  the  situation  in  Ulster."  ^ 
For  that  was  the  actual  result  of  the  "  turgid  homily."  It 
proved  of  real  service  to  the  Ulster  cause  by  bringing  to 
light  the  complete  solidarity  of  Unionist  opinion  in  its 
support.  That  meant,  in  the  light  of  the  electoral 
returns,  that  certainly  more  than  half  the  nation  sympa- 
thised with  the  measures  that  were  being  taken  in  Ulster, 
and  that  Ulster  could  well  afford  to  smile  at  the  mockery 
which  English  Home  Rulers  deemed  a  sufficient  weapon 
to  demolish  the  "  wooden  guns  "  and  the  "  military  play- 
acting of  Kjng  Carson's  Army." 

1  See  The  Times,  August  19th,  1912. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    EVE    OF   THE    COVENANT 

There  was  one  Liberal  statesman,  formerly  the  favourite 
lieutenant  of  Gladstone  and  the  closest  political  ally  of 
Asquith,  who  was  under  no  illusion  as  to  the  character  of 
the  men  with  whom  Asquith  was  now  provoking  a  conflict. 
Speaking  in  Edinburgh  on  the  1st  of  November,  1911,  that 
is,  shortly  after  the  Craigavon  meeting.  Lord  Rosebery 
told  his  Scottish  audience  that  "  he  loved  Highlanders 
and  he  loved  Lowlanders,  but  when  he  came  to  the  branch 
of  their  race  which  had  been  grafted  on  to  the  Ulster  stem 
he  took  off  his  hat  with  reverence  and  awe.  They  were 
without  exception  the  toughest,  the  most  dominant,  the 
most  irresistible  race  that  existed  in  the  universe."  ^ 

The  kinship  of  this  tough  people  with  the  Lowlanders 
of  Scotland,  in  character  as  in  blood,  was  never  more 
signally  demonstrated  than  when  they  decided,  in  one  of 
the  most  intense  crises  of  their  history,  to  emulate  the 
example  of  their  Scottish  forefathers  in  binding  themselves 
together  by  a  solemn  League  and  Covenant  to  resist  what 
they  deemed  to  be  a  tyrannical  encroachment  on  their 
liberties  and  rights. 

The  most  impressive  moment  at  the  Balmoral  meeting 
at  Easter  1912  was  when  the  vast  assemblage,  with 
uncovered  heads,  raised  their  hands  and  repeated  after 
Sir  Edward  Carson  words  abjuring  Home  Rule.  The 
incident  suggested  to  some  of  the  local  Unionist  leaders 
that  the  spirit  of  enthusiastic  solidarity  and  determination 
thus  manifested  should  not  be  allowed  to  evaporate,  and 
the  people  so  animated  to  disperse  to  the  four  corners  of 
Ulster  without  any  bond  of  mutual  obligation.  The  idea 
of  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  cause  and  to  each  other  was 

1  The  Scotsman,  November  2nd,  1911. 
101 


102  THE   EVE   OF  THE   COVENANT 

mooted,  and  appeared  to  be  favoured  by  many.  The 
leader  was  consulted.  He  gave  deep,  anxious,  and 
prolonged  consideration  to  the  proposal,  calculating  all 
the  consequences  which,  in  various  possible  eventuahties, 
might  follow  its  adoption.  He  was  not  only  profoundly 
conscious  of  the  moral  responsibility  which  he  personally, 
and  his  colleagues,  would  be  undertaking  by  the  contem- 
plated measure ;  he  realised  the  numerous  practical 
difficulties  there  might  be  in  honouring  the  bond,  and  he 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  a  device  which,  under  the 
guise  of  a  solemn  covenant,  would  be  nothing  more  than 
a  verbal  manifesto.  If  the  people  were  to  be  invited  to 
sign  anything  of  the  sort,  it  must  be  a  reality,  and  he,  as 
leader,  must  first  see  his  way  to  make  it  a  reality,  whatever 
might  happen. 

For,  although  Carson  never  shrank  from  responsibility, 
he  never  assumed  it  with  levity,  or  without  full  considera- 
tion of  all  that  it  might  involve.  Many  a  time,  especially 
before  he  had  fully  tested  for  himself  the  temper  of  the 
Ulster  people,  he  expressed  to  his  intimates  his  wonder 
whether  the  bulk  of  his  followers  sufficiently  appreciated 
the  seriousness  of  the  course  they  had  set  out  upon. 
Sometimes  in  private  he  seemed  to  be  hypersensitive  as 
to  whether  in  any  particular  he  was  misleading  those  who 
trusted  him ;  he  was  scrupulously  anxious  that  they 
should  not  be  carried  away  by  unreflecting  enthusiasm, 
or  by  personal  devotion  to  himself.  About  the  only 
criticism  of  his  leadership  that  was  ever  made  directly  to 
himself  by  one  of  the  rank  and  file  in  Ulster  was  that  it 
erred  on  the  side  of  patience  and  caution ;  and  this 
criticism  elicited  the  sharpest  reproof  he  was  ever  heard 
to  administer  to  any  of  his  followers.  >  His  expressions  of 
regard,  almost  amounting  to  affection,  for  the  men  and 
women  who  thronged  round  him  for  a  touch  of  his  hand 
wherever  he  appeared  in  the  streets  might  have  been 
ignorantly  set  down  as  the  arts  of  a  demagogue  had  they 
ever  been  spoken  in  public,  but  were  capable  of  no  such 
misconstruction  when  reserved,  as  they  invariably  were, 
for  the  ears  of  his  closest  associates.     The  truth  is  that 

1  See  Sir  E.  Carson's  speech  in  Beljasi  Newsletter,  September  24th,  1912. 


1912]      CARSON'S   SENSE   OF   RESPONSIBILITY        103 

no  popular  leader  was  ever  less  of  a  demagogue  than  Sir 
Edward  Carson.  He  had  no  "  arts  "  at  all — unless 
indeed  complete  simplicity  is  the  highest  of  all  "  arts  " 
in  one  whom  great  masses  of  men  implicitly  trust.  He 
never  sought  to  gain  or  augment  the  confidence  of  his 
followers  by  concealing  facts,  minimising  difficulties,  or 
overcolouring  expectations. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  the  decision  to  invite 
the  Ulster  people  to  bind  themselves  together  by  some 
form  of  written  bond  or  oath  was  one  which  Carson  did 
not  come  to  hastily.  While  the  matter  was  still  only 
being  talked  about  by  a  few  intimate  friends,  and  had 
not  been  in  any  way  formally  proposed.  Captain  James 
Craig  happened  to  be  occupying  himself  one  day  at  the 
Constitutional  Club  in  London  with  pencil  and  paper, 
making  experimental  drafts  that  might  do  for  the  proposed 
purpose,  when  he  was  joined  by  Mr.  B.  W.  D.  Montgomery, 
Secretary  of  the  Ulster  Club  in  Belfast,  who  asked  what 
he  was  doing.  "  Trying  to  draft  an  oath  for  our  people 
at  home,"  replied  Craig,  "  and  it's  no  easy  matter  to  get 
at  what  will  suit."  "  You  couldn't  do  better,"  said 
Montgomery,  "  than  take  the  old  Scotch  Covenant.  It  is 
a  fine  old  document,  full  of  grand  phrases,  and  thoroughly 
characteristic  of  the  Ulster  tone  of  mind  at  this  day." 
Thereupon  the  two  men  went  to  the  library,  wher. ,  with 
the  help  of  the  club  librarian,  they  found  a  History  of 
Scotland  containing  the  full  text  of  the  celebrated  bond 
of  the  Covenanters  (first  drawn  up,  by  a  curious  coincidence 
of  names,  by  John  Craig,  in  1581),  a  verbatim  copy  of 
which  was  made  from  the  book. 

The  first  idea  was  to  adapt  this  famous  manifesto  of 
militant  Protestantism  by  making  only  such  abbreviations 
and  alterations  as  would  render  it  suitable  for  the  purpose 
in  view.  But  when  it  was  ultimately  decided  to  go 
forward  with  the  proposal,  and  the  task  of  preparing  the 
document  was  entrusted  to  the  Special  Commission,^  it 
was  at  once  realised  that,  however  strongly  the  fine  old 
Jacobean  language  and  the  historical  associations  of  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant  might  appeal  to  the  imagina- 

^  See  ante,  p.  53. 
8 


104  THE   EVE   OF   THE   COVENANT 

tion  of  a  few,  it  was  far  too  involved  and  long-winded,  no 
matter  how  drastically  revised,  to  serve  as  an  actual 
working  agreement  between  men  of  to-day,  or  as  a 
rallying-point  for  a  modern  democratic  community.  What 
was  needed  was  something  quite  short  and  easily  intelli- 
gible, setting  forth  in  as  few  words  as  possible  a  purpose 
which  the  least  learned  could  grasp  at  a  glance,  and 
which  all  who  so  desired  could  sign  with  full  comprehension 
of  what  they  were  doing. 

Mr.  Thomas  Sinclair,  one  of  the  Special  Commission, 
was  himself  a  draughtsman  of  exceptional  skill,  and  in  a 
matter  of  this  kind  his  advice  was  always  invaluable,  and 
it  was  under  his  hand  that  the  Ulster  Covenant,  after 
frequent  amendment,  took  what  was,  with  one  important 
exception,  its  final  shape.  The  last  revision  cut  down  the 
draft  by  more  than  one-half ;  but  the  portion  discarded 
from  the  Covenant  itself,  in  the  interest  of  brevity,  was 
retained  as  a  Resolution  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council 
which  accompanied  the  Covenant  and  served  as  a  sort  of 
declaratory  preamble  to  it.^  The  exception  referred  to 
was  an  amendment  made  to  meet  an  objection  raised  by 
prominent  representatives  of  the  Presb}i:erian  Church. 
The  Special  Commission,  realising  that  the  proposed 
Covenant  ought  not  to  be  promulgated  without  the  consent 
and  approval  of  the  Protestant  Churches,  submitted  the 
agreed  draft  to  the  authorities  of  the  Church  of  Ireland 
and  of  the  Presbj-ferian,  ^lethodist,  and  Congregational 
Churches.  The  Moderator,  and  other  leaders  of  the 
Presb}i:erians,  including  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  Alexander) 
^McDowell,  a  man  endowed  with  much  of  the  wisdom  of 
the  serpent,  while  supporting  without  demur  the  policy 
of  the  Covenant,  took  exception  to  its  terms  in  a  single 
particular.  They  pointed  out  that  the  obligation  to  be 
accepted  by  the  signatories  would  be,  as  the  text  then 
stood,  of  unlimited  duration.  They  objected  to  under- 
taking such  a  responsibility  without  the  possibility  of 
modifying  it  to  meet  the  changes  which  time  and  circum- 
stance might  bring  about;  and  they  insisted  that,  before 
they  could  advise  their  congregations  to  contract  so  solemn 

1  See  p.  106. 


1912]  DRAFTING   THE   DOCUMENT  105 

an  engagement,  the  text  of  the  Covenant  must  be  amended 
by  the  introduction  of  words  hmiting  its  validity  to  the 
crisis  which  then  confronted  them. 

This  was  accordingly  done.  Words  were  introduced 
which  declared  the  pledge  to  be  binding  "  throughout 
this  our  time  of  threatened  calamity,"  and  its  purpose  to 
be  the  defeat  of  "  the  present  conspiracy."  The  language 
was  as  precise,  and  was  as  carefully  chosen,  as  the  language 
of  a  legal  deed  ;  but  in  an  unhappy  crisis  which  arose  in 
1916,  in  circumstances  which  no  one  in  the  world  could 
have  foreseen  in  1912,  there  were  some  in  Ulster  who  were 
not  only  tempted  to  strain  the  interpretation  which  the 
Covenant  as  a  whole  could  legitimately  bear,  but  who 
failed  to  appreciate  the  significance  of  the  amendments 
that  had  been  made  in  its  text  at  the  instance  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.^ 

When  these  amendments  had  been  incorporated  in 
the  Covenant  by  the  Special  Commission,  a  meeting  of  the 
Standing  Committee  was  convened  at  Craigavon  on  the 
19th  of  September  to  adopt  it  for  recommendation  to  the 
Council.  The  Committee,  standing  in  a  group  outside 
the  door  leading  from  the  arcade  at  Craigavon  to  the  tennis- 
lawn,  listened  while  Sir  Edward  Carson  read  the  Covenant 
aloud  from  a  stone  step  which  now  bears  an  inscription 
recording  the  event.  Those  present  showed  by  their 
demeanour  that  they  realised  the  historic  character  of  the 
transaction  in  which  they  were  taking  part,  and  the 
weight  of  responsibility  they  were  about  to  assume.  But 
no  voice  expressed  dissent  or  hesitation.  The  Covenant 
was  adopted  unanimously  and  without  amendment.  Its 
terms  were  as  follows  : 

"  Ulster's  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 

"  Being  convinced  in  our  consciences  that  Home  Rule 
would  be  disastrous  to  the  material  well-being  of  Ulster 
as  well  as  of  the  whole  of  Ireland,  subversive  of  our  civil 
and  religious  freedom,  destructive  of  our  citizenship,  and 
perilous  to  the  unity  of  the  Empire,  we,  whose  names  are 
underwritten,  men  of  Ulster,  loyal  subjects  of  His  Gracious 

1  See  p.  248. 


106  THE   EVE   OF  THE   COVENANT 

Majesty  King  George  V,  humbly  relying  on  the  God  whom 
our  fathers  in  days  of  stress  and  trial  confidently  trusted, 
do  hereby  pledge  ourselves  in  solemn  Covenant  throughout 
this  our  time  of  threatened  calamity  to  stand  by  one 
another  in  defending  for  ourselves  and  our  children  our 
cherished  position  of  equal  citizenship  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  and  in  using  all  means  which  may  be  found 
necessary  to  defeat  the  present  conspiracy  to  set  up  a 
Home  Rule  Parliament  in  Ireland.  And  in  the  event  of 
such  a  Parliament  being  forced  upon  us  we  further  solemnly 
and  mutually  pledge  ourselves  to  refuse  to  recognise  its 
authority.  In  sure  confidence  that  God  will  defend  the 
right  we  hereto  subscribe  our  names.  And  further,  we 
individually  declare  that  we  have  not  already  signed  this 
Covenant.     God  save  the  King." 

On  Monday,  the  23rd  of  September,  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council,  the  body  representing  the  whole  loyalist  com- 
munity on  an  elective  and  thoroughly  democratic  basis, 
held  its  annual  meeting  in  the  Ulster  Hall,  the  chief  business 
being  the  ratification  of  the  Covenant  prior  to  its  being 
presented  for  general  signature  throughout  the  province 
on  Ulster  Day.  Upwards  of  five  hundred  delegates 
attended  the  meeting,  and  unanimously  approved  the 
terms  of  the  document  recommended  for  their  acceptance 
by  their  Standing  Committee.  They  then  adopted,  on 
the  motion  of  Lord  Londonderry,  the  Resolution  which,  as 
already  mentioned,  had  originally  formed  part  of  the 
draft  of  the  Covenant  itself.  This  Resolution,  as  well  as 
the  Covenant,  was  the  subject  of  extensive  comment  in  the 
English  and  Scottish  Press.  Some  opponents  of  Ulster 
directed  against  it  the  flippant  ridicule  which  appeared  to 
be  their  only  weapon  against  a  movement  the  gravity  of 
which  was  admitted  by  Ministers  of  the  Crown  ;  but,  on 
the  whole,  the  British  Press  acknowledged  the  important 
enunciation  of  political  principle  which  it  contained.  It 
placed  on  record  that : 

"  Inasmuch  as  we,  the  duly  elected  delegates  and 
members  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council,  representing  all 
parts  of  Ulster,  are  firmly  persuaded  that  by  no  law  can 
the  right  to  govern  those  whom  we  represent  be  bartered 


1912]  THE   DECLARATORY   RESOLUTION  107 

away  without  their  consent ;  that  although  the  present 
Government,  the  services  and  sacrifices  of  our  race  having 
been  forgotten,  may  drive  us  forth  from  a  Constitution 
which  we  have  ever  loyally  upheld,  they  may  not  deliver 
us  bound  into  the  hands  of  our  enemies  ;  and  that  it  is 
incompetent  for  any  authority,  party,  or  people  to  appoint 
as  our  rulers  a  Government  dominated  by  men  disloyal  to 
the  Empire  and  to  whom  our  faith  and  traditions  are 
hateful ;  and  inasmuch  as  we  reverently  believe  that,  as 
in  times  past  it  was  given  our  fathers  to  save  themselves 
from  a  like  calamity,  so  now  it  may  be  ordered  that  our 
deliverance  shall  be  by  our  own  hands,  to  which  end  it  is 
needful  that  we  be  knit  together  as  one  man,  each  strength- 
ening the  other,  and  none  holding  back  or  counting  the 
cost— therefore  we,  Loyalists  of  Ulster,  ratify  and  confirm 
the  steps  so  far  taken  by  the  Special  Commission  this  day 
submitted  and  explained  to  us,  and  we  reappoint  the 
Commission  to  carry  on  its  work  on  our  behalf  as  in  the 
past. 

"  We  enter  into  the  Solemn  Covenant  appended  hereto, 
and,  knowing  the  greatness  of  the  issues  depending  on  our 
faithfulness,  we  promise  each  to  the  others  that,  to  the 
uttermost  of  the  strength  and  means  given  us,  and  not 
regarding  any  selfish  or  private  interest,  our  substance  or 
our  lives,  we  will  make  good  the  said  Covenant ;  and  we 
now  bind  ourselves  in  the  steadfast  determination  that, 
whatever  may  befall,  no  such  domination  shall  be  thrust 
upon  us,  and  in  the  hope  that  by  the  blessing  of  God  our 
Union  with  Great  Britain,  upon  which  are  fixed  our 
affections  and  trust,  may  yet  be  maintained,  and  that  for 
ourselves  and  for  our  children,  for  this  Province  and  for 
the  whole  of  Ireland,  peace,  prosperity,  and  civil  and 
religious  liberty  may  be  secured  under  the  Parliament  of 
the  United  Kingdom  and  of  the  King  whose  faithful 
subjects  we  are  and  will  continue  all  our  days." 

It  had  been  known  for  some  weeks  that  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  Ulster  Loyalists  to  dedicate  the  28th  of 
September  as  "  Ulster  Day,"  by  holding  special  religious 
services,  after  which  they  were  to  "  pledge  themselves  to 
a  solemn  Covenant,"  the  terms  of  which  were  not  yet 
published  or,  indeed,  finally  settled.  This  announcement, 
which  appeared  in  the  Press  on  the  17th  of  August,  was 


108  THE   EVE   OF  THE   COVENANT 

hailed  in  England  as  an  effective  reply  to  the  recent 
"  turgid  homily  "  of  Mr.  Churchill,  but  there  was  really  no 
connection  between  them  in  the  intentions  of  Ulstermen, 
who  had  been  too  much  occupied  with  their  own  affairs 
to  pay  much  attention  to  the  attack  upon  them  in  the 
Dundee  letters.  The  Ulster  Day  celebration  was  to  be 
preceded  by  a  series  of  demonstrations  in  many  of  the 
chief  centres  of  Ulster,  at  which  the  purpose  of  the  Covenant 
was  to  be  explained  to  the  people  by  the  leader  and  his 
colleagues,  and  a  number  of  English  Peers  and  Members  of 
Parliament  arranged  to  show  their  sympathy  with  the  policy 
embodied  in  the  Covenant  by  taking  part  in  the  meetings. 

It  would  not  be  true  to  say  that  the  enthusiasm  displayed 
at  this  great  series  of  meetings  in  September  eclipsed  all 
that  had  gone  before,  for  it  would  not  be  possible  for 
human  beings  greatly  to  exceed  in  that  emotion  what  had 
been  seen  at  Craigavon  and  Balmoral ;  but  they  exhibited 
an  equally  grave  sense  of  responsibility,  and  they  proved 
that  the  same  exaltation  of  mind,  the  same  determined 
spirit,  that  had  been  displayed  by  Loyalists  collected 
in  the  populous  capital  of  their  province,  equally  animated 
the  country  towns  and  rural  districts. 

The  campaign  opened  at  Enniskillen  on  the  18th  of 
September,  where  the  leader  was  escorted  by  two  squadrons 
of  mounted  and  well-equipped  yeomen  from  the  station 
to  Portora  Gate,  at  which  point  40,000  members  of  Unionist 
Clubs  drawn  from  the  surrounding  agricultural  districts 
marched  past  him  in  military  order.  During  the  following 
nine  days  demonstrations  were  held  at  Lisburn,  Derry, 
Coleraine,  Ballymena,  Dromore,  Portadown,  Crumlin, 
Newtownards,  and  Ballyroney,  culminating  with  a  meeting 
in  the  Ulster  Hall — loyalist  headquarters — on  the  eve  of 
the  signing  of  the  Covenant  on  Ulster  Day.  At  six  of 
these  meetings,  including,  of  course,  the  last,  Sir  Edward 
Carson  was  the  principal  speaker,  while  all  the  Ulster 
Unionist  Members  of  Parliament  took  part  in  their  several 
constituencies.  Lord  Londonderry  was  naturally  promi- 
nent among  the  speakers,  and  presided  as  usual,  when  the 
Duke  of  Abercorn  was  prevented  by  illness  from  being 
present,  in  the  Ulster  Hall.     Mr.  F.  E.  Smith,  who  had 


1912]  A   PROVINCIAL   TOUR  109 

closely  identified  himself  with  the  Ulster  Movement, 
delighting  with  his  fresh  and  vigorous  eloquence  the 
meetings  at  Balmoral  and  Blenheim,  as  well  as  the  Orange 
Lodges  whom  he  had  addressed  on  the  12th  of  July, 
crossed  the  Channel  to  lend  a  helping  hand,  and  spoke  at 
five  meetings  on  the  tour.  Others  who  took  part — in 
addition  to  local  men  like  Mr.  Thomas  Sinclair  and  Mr. 
John  Young,  whose  high  character  always  made  their 
appearance  on  political  platforms  of  value  to  the  cause 
they  supported — were  Lord  Charles  Beresford,  Lord 
Salisbury,  Mr.  James  Campbell,  Lord  Hugh  Cecil,  Lord 
Willoughby  de  Broke,  and  Mr.  Harold  Smith;  while  the 
Marquis  of  Hamilton  and  Lord  Castlereagh,  by  the  part 
which  they  took  in  the  programme,  showed  their  desire 
to  carry  on  the  traditions  which  identified  the  two 
leading  Ulster  families  with  loyalist  principles. 

A  single  resolution,  identical  in  the  simplicity  of  its 
terms,  was  carried  without  a  dissenting  voice  at  every  one 
of  these  meetings  :  "  We  hereby  reaffirm  the  resolve  of 
the  great  Ulster  Convention  of  1892  :  '  We  will  not  have 
Home  Rule.'  "  These  words  became  so  familiar  that 
the  laconic  phrase  "  We  won't  have  it,"  was  on  everybody's 
lips  as  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  Ulster's  attitude,  and  was 
sometimes  heard  with  unexpected  abruptness  in  no  very 
precise  context.  A  ticket-collector,  when  clipping  the 
tickets  of  the  party  who  were  starting  from  Belfast  in  a 
saloon  for  Enniskillen,  made  no  remark  and  no  sign  of 
recognition  till  he  reached  Carson,  when  he  said  almost 
in  a  whisper  and  without  a  glimmer  of  a  smile,  as  he  took  a 
clip  out  of  the  leader's  ticket :  "  Tell  the  station-master 
at  Clones,  Sir  Edward,  that  we  won't  have  it."  He 
doubtless  knew  that  the  political  views  of  that  misguided 
official  were  of  the  wrong  colour.  A  conversation  over- 
heard in  the  crowd  at  Enniskillen  before  the  speaking 
began  was  a  curious  example  of  the  habit  so  characteristic 
of  Ulster — and  indeed  of  other  parts  of  Ireland  also — of 
thinking  of 

"  Old,  unhappy,  far-off  thingB,  and  battles  long  ago  " 

as   if  they  had  occurred  last  week,   and  were  a  factor 


110  THE   EVE   OF  THE   COVENANT 

to  be  taken  into  account  in  the  conduct  of  to-day.  The 
demonstration  was  in  the  open  air,  and  the  sunshine  was 
gleaming  on  the  grass  of  a  hill  close  at  hand.  "  It  'ud  be  a 
quare  thing,"  said  a  peasant  to  his  neighbour  in  the  crowd, 
"  if  the  rebels  would  come  out  and  hould  a  meetin'  agin 
us  on  yon  hill."  "  What  matter  if  they  would,"  was  the 
reply,  "  wouldn't  we  let  on  that  we  won't  have  it  ?  an' 
if  that  wouldn't  do  them,  isn't  there  hundreds  o'  King 
James's  men  at  the  bottom  o'  the  lough,  an'  there's  plenty 
o'  room  yet."  It  was  not  spoken  in  jest,  but  in  grim 
conviction  that  the  issue  of  1689  was  the  issue  of  1912, 
and  that  another  Newtown  Butler  might  have  to  be 
fought. 

This  series  of  meetings  in  preparation  for  the  Covenant 
brought  Carson  much  more  closely  in  touch  with  the 
Loyalists  in  outlying  districts  than  he  had  been  hitherto, 
and  when  it  was  over  their  wild  devotion  to  him  personally 
equalled  what  it  was  in  Belfast  itself.  The  appeal  made 
to  the  hearts  of  men  as  quick  as  any  living  to  detect  and 
resent  humbug  or  boastfulness,  by  the  simplicity,  uncom- 
promising directness,  and  courage  of  his  character  was 
irresistible.  He  never  spoke  better  than  during  this  tour 
of  the  Province.  The  Special  Correspondent  of  The  Times, 
who  sent  to  his  paper  vivid  descriptive  articles  on  each 
meeting,  said  in  his  account  of  the  meeting  at  Coleraine 
that  "  Sir  Edward  Carson  was  vigorous,  fresh,  and 
picturesque.  His  command  over  the  feelings  of  his  Ulster 
audiences  is  unquestionable,  and  never  a  phrase  passes  his 
lips  which  does  not  tell."  And  when  the  proceedings  of 
the  meeting  were  over,  the  same  observer  "  was  at  the 
station  to  witness  the  '  send-off  '  of  the  leaders,  and  for 
ten  minutes  before  the  train  for  Belfast  came  in  the  tumult 
of  the  cheers,  the  thanks,  and  the  farewells  never  faltered 
for  an  instant."  ^  Two  days  later  another  English  com- 
mentator declared  that  "  The  Ulster  campaign  has  been 
conducted  up  to  the  present  with  a  combination  of 
wisdom,  ability,  and  restraint  which  has  delighted  all  the 
Unionists  of  the  province,  and  exasperated  their  Radical 
and  Nationalist  enemies.     From  its  opening  at  Enniskillen 

1  The  Times,  September  23rd,  1912. 


1912]        THE   LEADER'S   NOTE   OF   WARNING  111 

not  a  speech  has  been  delivered  unworthy  of  a  great  move- 
ment in  defence  of  civil  and  religious  liberty."  ' 

It  was  characteristic  of  Sir  Edward  Carson  that  neither 
at  these  meetings  nor  at  any  time  did  he  use  his  unmatched 
power  of  persuasion  to  induce  his  followers  to  come  forward 
and  sign  the  Covenant.  On  the  contrary,  he  rather  warned 
them  only  to  do  so  after  mature  reflection  and  with  full 
comprehension  of  the  responsibility  which  signature  would 
entail.  He  told  the  Unionist  Council  a  few  days  before 
the  memorable  28th  of  September  :  "  How  often  have  I 
thought  over  this  Covenant — how  many  hours  have  I  spent, 
before  it  was  published  that  we  would  have  one,  in 
counting  the  cost  that  may  result  !  How  many  times  have 
I  thought  of  what  it  may  mean  to  all  that  we  care  about 
up  here  !  Does  any  man  believe  that  I  lightly  took  this 
matter  in  hand  without  considering  with  my  colleagues 
all  that  it  may  mean  either  in  the  distant  or  the  not  too 
distant  future  ?  No,  it  is  the  gravest  matter  in  all  the 
grave  matters  in  the  various  offices  I  have  held  that  I 
have  ever  had  to  consider."  And  he  went  on  to  advise 
the  delegates,  "  responsible  men  from  every  district  in 
Ulster,  that  it  is  your  duty,  when  you  go  back  to  your 
various  districts,  to  warn  your  people  who  trust  you  that, 
in  entering  into  this  solemn  obligation,  they  are  entering 
into  a  matter  which,  whatever  may  happen  in  the  future, 
is  the  most  serious  matter  that  has  ever  confronted  them 
in  the  course  of  their  lives."  ^ 

A  political  campaign  such  as  that  of  September  1912 
could  not  be  a  success,  however  spontaneous  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  people,  however  effective  the  oratory,  unless 
the  arrangements  were  based  on  good  organisation.  It 
was  by  general  consent  a  triumph  of  organisation,  the 
credit  for  which  was  very  largely  due  to  Mr.  Richard 
Dawson  Bates,  the  Secretary  of  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council.  Sir  Edward  Carson  himself  very  wisely  paid 
little  attention  to  detail ;  happily  there  was  no  need  for 
him  to  do  so,  for  he  had  beside  him  in  Captain  James 
Craig  and  Mr.  Bates  two  men  with  real  genius  for  organ- 

1  The  Daily  Telegraph,  September  25th,  1912. 

2  Belfast  Newsletter,  September  24th,  1912. 


112  THE  EVE   OF   THE   COVENANT 

isation,  and  indefatigable  in  relieving  "  the  chief  "  of  all 
unnecessary  work  and  worry.  Mr.  Bates  had  all  the 
threads  of  a  complex  network  of  organisation  in  his  hands  ; 
he  kept  in  close  touch  with  leading  Unionists  in  every 
district ;  he  always  knew  what  was  going  on  in  out-of-the- 
way  corners,  and  where  to  turn  for  the  right  man  for  any 
particular  piece  of  work.  Anyone  whose  duty  it  has  been 
to  manage  even  a  single  political  demonstration  on  a  large 
scale  knows  what  numerous  details  have  to  be  carefully 
foreseen  and  provided  for.  In  Ulster  a  succession  of 
both  outdoor  and  indoor  demonstrations,  seldom  if  ever 
equalled  in  this  country  in  magnitude  and  complexity  of 
arrangement,  besides  an  amazing  quantity  of  other  mis- 
cellaneous work  inseparable  from  the  conduct  of  a  political 
movement  in  which  crisis  followed  crisis  with  bewildering 
rapidity,  were  managed  year  after  year  from  Mr.  Bates's 
office  in  the  Old  Town  Hall  with  a  quiet,  unostentatious 
efficiency  which  only  those  could  appreciate  who  saw  the 
machine  at  work  and  knew  the  master  mechanic  behind 
it.  Of  this  efficiency  the  September  demonstrations  in 
1912  were  a  conspicuous  illustration. 

Nor  did  the  Loyalist  women  of  Ulster  lag  an  inch 
behind  the  men  either  in  organisation  or  in  zeal  for  the 
Unionist  cause,  and  their  keenness  at  every  town  visited 
in  this  September  tour  was  exuberantly  displayed.  Women 
had  not  yet  been  enfranchised,  of  course,  and  the  Ulster 
women  had  shown  but  little  interest  in  the  suffragette 
agitation  which  was  raging  at  this  time  in  England  ;  but 
they  had  organised  themselves  in  defence  of  the  Union 
very  effectively  on  parallel  lines  to  the  men,  and  if  the 
latter  had  needed  any  stimulus  to  their  enthusiasm  they 
would  certainly  have  got  it  from  their  mothers,  sisters, 
and  wives.  The  Marchioness  of  Londonderry  threw  herself 
whole-heartedly  into  the  movement.  Having  always  ably 
seconded  her  husband's  many  political  and  social  activities, 
she  made  no  exception  in  regard  to  his  devotion  to  Ulster. 
Lord  Londonderry,  she  was  fond  of  saying,  was  an  Ulster- 
man  born  and  bred,  and  she  was  an  Ulsterwoman  "  by 
adoption  and  grace."  Her  energy  was  inexhaustible,  and 
her  enthusiasm  contagious  ;    she  used  her  influence  and 


1912]  EFFICIENT  ORGANISATION  118 

her   wonderful   social   gifts   unsparingly   in   the   Unionist 
cause. 

A  meeting  of  the  Ulster  Women's  Unionist  Council,  of 
which  the  Dowager  Marchioness  of  Dufferin  and  Ava, 
widow  of  the  great  diplomat,  was  president,  was  held  on 
the  17th  of  September,  the  day  before  the  demonstration 
at  Enniskillen,  when  a  resolution  proposed  by  Lady 
Londonderry  declaring  the  determination  of  Ulster  women 
to  stand  by  their  men  in  the  policy  to  be  embodied  in  the 
Covenant,  was  carried  with  immense  enthusiasm  and 
without  dissent.  No  women  were  so  vehement  in  their 
support  of  the  Loyalist  cause  as  the  factory  workers,  who 
were  very  numerous  in  Belfast.  Indeed,  their  zeal,  and 
their  manner  of  displaying  it,  seemed  sometimes  to 
illustrate  a  well-known  line  of  Kipling's,  considered  by 
some  to  be  anything  but  complimentary  to  the  female 
sex.  Anyhow,  there  was  no  divergence  of  opinion  or 
sympathy  between  the  two  sexes  in  Ulster  on  the  question 
of  Union  or  Home  Rule  ;  and  the  women  who  everywhere 
attended  the  meetings  in  large  numbers  were  no  idle 
sightseers — though  they  were  certainly  hero-worshippers 
of  the  Ulster  leader — but  a  genuine  political  force  to  be 
taken  into  account. 

It  was  during  the  September  campaign  that  the  "  wooden 
guns  "  and  "  dummy  rifles  "  appeared,  which  excited  so 
much  derision  in  the  English  Radical  Press,  whose  editors 
little  dreamed  that  the  day  was  not  far  distant  when  Mr. 
Asquith's  Government  would  be  glad  enough  to  borrow 
those  same  dummy  rifles  for  training  the  new  levies  of 
Kitchener's  Army  to  fight  the  Germans.  So  far  as  the 
Ulstermen  were  concerned  the  ridicule  of  their  quasi- 
military  display  and  equipment  never  had  any  sting  in  it. 
They  were  conscious  of  the  strength  given  to  their  cause 
by  the  discipline  and  military  organisation  of  the  volunteers, 
even  if  the  weapons  with  which  they  drilled  should  never 
be  replaced  by  the  real  thing  ;  and  many  of  them  had  an 
instinctive  belief  that  their  leaders  would  see  to  it  that 
they  were  effectively  armed  all  in  good  time.  And  so  with 
grim  earnestness  they  recruited  the  various  battalions  of 
volunteers,  gave  up  their  evenings  to  drilling,   provided 


114  THE   EVE   OF   THE   COVENANT 

cyclist  corps,  signalling  corps,  ambulances  and  nurses ; 
they  were  proud  to  receive  their  leader  with  guards  of 
honour  at  the  station,  and  bodyguards  while  he  drove 
through  their  town  or  district  to  the  meetings  where  he 
spoke.  Few  of  them  probably  ever  so  much  as  heard  of 
the  gibes  of  The  Irish  News,  The  Daily  News,  or  The  West- 
minster Gazette  at  the  "  royal  progresses  "  of  "  King 
Carson  "  ;  but  the}'^  would  have  been  in  no  way  upset  by 
them  if  they  had,  for  they  were  far  too  much  in  earnest 
themselves  to  pay  heed  to  the  cheap  sneers  of  others.  At 
each  one  of  the  September  meetings  there  was  a  military 
setting  to  the  business  of  the  day.  At  Enniskillen  Carson 
was  conducted  by  a  cavalry  escort  to  the  ground  where 
he  was  to  address  the  people  ;  at  Coleraine,  Portadown, 
and  other  places  volunteers  lined  the  route  and  marched 
in  column  to  and  from  the  meeting.  They  were,  it  is 
true,  but  "  half-baked "  levies,  with  more  zeal  than 
knowledge  of  military  duties.  But  competent  critics — 
and  there  were  many  such  amongst  the  visitors — praised 
their  bearing  and  physique  and  the  creditable  measure  of 
discipline  they  had  already  acquired.  And  it  must  be 
remembered  that  in  September  1912  the  Ulster  Volunteer 
Force  was  still  in  its  infancy.  In  the  following  two  years 
its  improvement  in  efficiency  was  very  marked ;  and 
within  three  years  of  the  time  when  its  battalions  paraded 
before  Sir  Edward  Carson,  with  dummy  rifles,  and  marched 
before  him  to  his  meetings  in  Lisburn,  Newtownards, 
Enniskillen,  and  Belfast  on  the  eve  of  the  Covenant,  those 
same  men  had  gloriously  fought  against  the  flower  of  the 
Prussian  Army,  and  many  of  them  had  fallen  in  the  battle 
of  the  Somme. 

The  final  meeting  in  the  Ulster  Hall  on  Friday  the 
27th  of  September  was  an  impressive  climax  to  the  tour. 
Many  English  journalists  and  other  visitors  were  present, 
and  some  of  them  admitted  that,  in  spite  of  all  they  had 
heard  of  what  an  Ulster  Hall  meeting  was  like,  they  were 
astonished  by  the  soul-stirring  fervour  they  witnessed,  and 
especially  by  the  wonderful  spectacle  presented  at  the 
overflow  meeting  in  the  street  outside,  which  was  packed 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  either  direction  with 


1912]  AN   IMPRESSIVE   CLIMAX  115 

upturned  faces,  eager  to  catch  the  words  addressed  to 
them  from  a  platform  erected  for  the  speakers  outside  an 
upper  window  of  the  building.' 

Messages  of  sympathy  and  approval  at  this  supreme 
moment  were  read  from  Mr.  Bonar  Law  and  Lord  Lans- 
downe,  Mr.  Long,  IMr.  Balfour,  and  Mr.  Austen  Chamberlain. 
Then,  after  brief  speeches  by  four  local  Belfast  men,  one 
of  whom  was  a  representative  of  Labour,  and  while  the 
audience  were  waiting  eagerly  for  the  speech  of  their 
leader,  there  occurred  what  The  Times  next  day  described 
as  "  two  entirely  delightful,  and,  as  far  as  the  crowd  was 
concerned,  two  entirely  unexpected  episodes."  The  first 
was  the  presentation  to  Sir  Edward  Carson  of  a  faded 
yellow  silk  banner  by  Colonel  Wallace,  Grand  Master  of 
the  Belfast  Orangemen,  who  explained  that  it  was  the 
identical  banner  that  had  been  carried  before  King 
William  III  at  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  and  was  now  lent 
by  its  owner,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  original  standard- 
bearer,  to  be  carried  before  Carson  to  the  signing  of  the 
Covenant ;  the  second  was  the  presentation  to  the  leader 
of  a  silver  key,  symbolic  of  Ulster  as  "  the  key  of  the 
situation,"  and  a  silver  pen  wherewith  to  sign  the  Covenant 
on  the  morrow,  by  Captain  James  Craig.  "  The  two 
incidents,"  continued  the  Correspondent  of  The  Times, 
"  were  followed  by  the  audience  with  breathless  excite- 
ment, and  made  a  remarkably  effective  prelude  to  Sir 
Edward  Carson's  speech.  Premeditated,  no  doubt,  that 
incident  of  the  banner — yet  entirely  graceful,  entirely 
fitting  to  the  spirit  of  the  occasion — a  plan  carried  through 
with  the  sense  of  ceremony  which  Ulstermen  seem  to  have 
always  at  their  command  in  moments  of  emotion." 

And  if  ever  there  was  a  "  moment  of  emotion  "  for  the 
Loyalists  of  Ulster — those  descendants  of  the  Plantation 
men  who  had  been  deliberately  sent  to  Ireland  with  a 
commission  from  the  first  sovereign  of  a  united  Britain  to 
uphold  British  interests,  British  honour,  and  the  Reformed 
Faith  across  the  narrow  sea — Loyalists  who  were  conscious 

^  The  article  which  appeared  on  the  following  Sunday  in  The  Observer, 
showed  how  profoundly  a  distinguished  London  editor  and  writer  had 
been  moved  by  what  he  saw  in  Belfast. 


116  THE   EVE   OF  THE   COVENANT 

that  throughout  the  generations  they  had  honestly  striven 
to  be  faithful  to  their  mission — if  ever  in  their  long  and 
stormy  history  they  experienced  a  "  moment  of  emotion," 
it  was  assuredly  on  this  evening  before  the  signing  of 
their  Covenant. 

The  speeches  delivered  by  their  leader  and  others  were 
merely  a  vent  for  that  emotion.  There  was  nothing  that 
could  be  said  about  their  cause  that  they  did  not  know 
already  ;  but  all  felt  that  the  heart  of  the  matter  was 
touched — the  whole  situation,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned, 
summed  up  in  a  single  sentence  of  Carson's  speech  :  "  We 
will  take  deliberately  a  step  forward,  not  in  defiance  but 
in  defence  ;  and  the  Covenant  which  we  will  most  willingly 
sign  to-morrow  will  be  a  great  step  forward,  in  no  spirit 
of  aggression,  in  no  spirit  of  ascendancy,  but  with  a  full 
knowledge  that,  if  necessary,  you  and  I — you  trusting  me, 
and  I  trusting  you — will  follow  out  everjrthing  that  this 
Covenant  means  to  the  very  end,  whatever  the  conse- 
quences." Every  man  and  woman  who  heard  these 
words  was  filled  with  an  exalted  sense  of  the  solemnity  of 
the  occasion.  The  mental  atmosphere  was  not  that  of  a 
political  meeting,  but  of  a  religious  service — and,  in  fact, 
the  proceedings  had  been  opened  by  prayer,  as  had 
become  the  invariable  custom  on  such  occasions  in  Ulster. 
It  was  felt  to  be  a  time  of  individual  preparation  for  the 
Sacr amentum  of  the  following  day,  which  Protestant 
Ulster  had  set  apart  as  a  day  of  self-dedication  to  a  cause 
for  which  they  were  willing  to  make  any  sacrifice. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  SOLEMN  LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT 

Ulster  Day,  Saturday  the  28th  of  September,  1912,  was 
kept  as  a  day  of  religious  observance  by  the  Northern 
Loyahsts.  So  far  as  the  Protestants  of  all  denominations 
were  concerned,  Ulster  was  a  province  at  prayer  on  that 
memorable  Saturday  morning.  In  Belfast,  not  only  the 
services  which  had  more  or  less  of  an  official  character — 
those  held  in  the  Cathedral,  in  the  Ulster  Hall,  in  the 
Assembly  Hall — but  those  held  in  nearly  all  the  places  of 
worship  in  the  city,  were  crowded  with  reverent  worshippers. 
It  was  the  same  throughout  the  country  towns  and  rural 
districts — there  was  hardly  a  village  or  hamlet  where 
the  parish  church  and  the  Presbyterian  and  Methodist 
meeting-houses  were  not  attended  by  congregations  of 
unwonted  numbers  and  fervour.  Not  that  there  was  any 
of  the  religious  excitement  such  as  accompanies  revivalist 
meetings ;  it  was  simply  that  a  population,  naturally 
religious-minded,  turned  instinctively  to  divine  worship 
as  the  fitting  expression  of  common  emotion  at  a  moment 
of  critical  gravity  in  their  histor}'-.  "  One  noteworthy 
feature,"  commented  upon  by  one  of  the  English  newspaper 
correspondents  in  a  despatch  telegraphed  during  the  day, 
"  is  the  silence  of  the  great  shipyards.  In  these  vast 
industrial  establishments  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  25,000 
men  were  at  work  yesterday  performing  their  task  at  the 
highest  possible  pressure,  for  the  order-books  of  both  firms 
are  full  of  orders.  Now  there  is  not  the  sound  of  a  hammer ; 
all  is  as  silent  as  the  grave.  The  splendid  craftsmen  who 
build  the  largest  ships  in  the  world  have  donned  their 
Sunday  clothes,  and,  with  Unionist  buttons  on  the  lapels 
of  their  coats,  or  Orange  sashes  on  their  shoulders,  are 
about  to  engage  on  what  to  them  is  an  even  more  important 

117 


118   THE  SOLEMN  LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT 

task."  He  also  noticed  that  although  the  streets  were 
crowded  there  was  no  excitement,  for  "  the  average  Ulster- 
man  performs  his  religious  and  political  duties  with  calm 
sobriety.  He  has  no  time  to-day  for  mirth  or  merriment, 
for  every  minute  is  devoted  to  proving  that  he  is  still  the 
same  man — devoted  to  the  Empire,  to  the  King,  and 
Constitution."  ^ 

There  is  at  all  times  in  Ulster  far  less  sectarian  enmity 
between  the  Episcopal  and  other  Reformed  Churches  than 
in  England  ;  on  Ulster  Day  the  complete  harmony  and 
co-operation  between  them  was  a  marked  feature  of  the 
observances.  At  the  Cathedral  in  Belfast  the  preacher 
was  the  Bishop  of  Down,^  while  a  Presbyterian  minister 
representing  the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly,  and 
the  President  of  the  Methodist  College  took  part  in  the 
conduct  of  the  service.  At  the  Ulster  Hall  the  same  unity 
was  evidenced  by  a  similar  co-operation  between  clergy 
of  the  three  denominations,  and  also  at  the  Assembly  Hall 
(a  Presbyterian  place  of  worship),  where  Dr.  Montgomery, 
the  Moderator,  was  assisted  by  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  Ireland  representing  the  Bishop. 

The  service  in  the  Ulster  Hall  was  attended  by  Sir 
Edward  Carson,  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Belfast  (Mr.  McMordie, 
M.P.),  most  of  the  distinguished  visitors  from  England, 
and  by  those  Ulster  members  whose  constituencies  were 
in  or  near  the  city  ;  those  representing  country  seats  went 
thither  to  attend  local  services  and  to  sign  the  Covenant 
with  their  own  constituents. 

One  small  but  significant  detail  in  the  day's  proceedings 
was  much  noticed  as  a  striking  indication  of  the  instinctive 
realisation  by  the  crowd  of  the  exceptional  character  of 
the  occasion.  Bedford  Street,  where  the  Ulster  Hall  is, 
was  densely  packed  with  spectators,  but  when  the  leader 
arrived,  instead  of  the  hurricane  of  cheers  that  invariably 
greeted  his  appearance  in  the  streets,  there  was  nothing 
but  a  general  uncovering  of  heads  and  respectful  silence. 
It  is  true  that  the  people  abundantly  compensated  them- 
selves for  this  moment  of  self-restraint  later  on,  until  in 

1  The  Standard,  September  30th,  1912. 

*  Dr.  D'Arcy,  now  (1922)   Primate  of  All  Ireland. 


1912]  A   SIGNIFICANT  DETAIL  119 

the  evening  one  wondered  how  human  throats  could 
survive  so  many  hours  of  continuous  strain ;  but  the 
contrast  only  made  the  more  remarkable  that  almost 
startling  silence  before  the  religious  service  began. 

The  "  sense  of  ceremony  "  which  The  Times  Correspond- 
ent on  another  occasion  had  declared  to  be  characteristic 
of  Ulstermen  "  in  moments  of  emotion,"  was  certainly 
displayed  conspicuously  on  Ulster  Day.  Ceremony  at 
large  public  functions  is  naturally  cast  in  a  military  mould — 
marching  men,  bands  of  music,  display  of  flags,  guards  of 
honour,  and  so  forth — and  although  on  this  occasion  there 
was,  it  is  true,  more  than  mere  decorative  significance  in 
the  military  frame  to  the  picture,  it  was  an  admirably 
designed  and  effective  spectacle.  It  is  but  a  few  hundred 
yards  from  the  Ulster  Hall  to  the  City  Hall,  where  the 
signing  of  the  Covenant  was  to  take  place.  When  the 
religious  service  ended,  about  noon.  Sir  Edward  Carson 
and  his  colleagues  proceeded  from  one  hall  to  the  other  on 
foot.  The  Boyne  standard,  which  had  been  presented  to 
the  leader  the  previous  evening,  was  borne  before  him  to 
the  City  Hall.  He  was  escorted  by  a  guard  consisting  of 
a  hundred  men  from  the  Orange  Lodges  of  Belfast  and  a 
like  number  representing  the  Unionist  clubs  of  the  city. 
These  clubs  had  also  provided  a  force  of  2,500  men,  whose 
duty,  admirably  performed  throughout  the  day,  was  to 
protect  the  gardens  and  statuary  surrounding  the  City 
Hall  from  injury  by  the  crowd,  and  to  keep  a  clear  way  to 
the  Hall  for  the  endless  stream  of  men  entering  to  sign 
the  Covenant. 

The  City  Hall  in  Belfast  is  a  building  of  which  Ulster  is 
justly  proud.  It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  few  modern  public 
buildings  in  the  British  Islands  in  which  the  most  exacting 
critic  of  architecture  finds  nothing  to  condemn.  Standing 
in  the  central  site  of  the  city  with  ample  garden  space  in 
front,  its  noble  proportions  and  beautiful  fagade  and  dome 
fill  the  view  from  the  broad  thoroughfare  of  Donegal  Place. 
The  main  entrance  hall,  leading  to  a  fine  marble  stairway, 
is  circular  in  shape,  surrounded  by  a  marble  colonnade 
carrying  the  dome,  to  which  the  hall  is  open  through  the 
full  height  of  the  building.  It  was  in  this  central  space 
9 


120   THE  SOLEMN  LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT 

beneath  the  dome  that  a  round  table  covered  with  the 
Union  Jack  was  placed  for  the  signing  of  the  Covenant 
by  the  Ulster  leaders  and  the  most  prominent  of  their 
supporters. 

To  those  Englishmen  who  have  never  been  able  to  grasp 
the  Ulster  point  of  view,  and  who  have,  therefore,  persisted 
in  regarding  the  Ulster  Movement  as  a  phase  of  party 
politics  in  the  ordinary  sense,  it  must  appear  strange  and 
even  improper  that  the  City  Hall,  the  official  quarters  of 
the  Corporation,  should  have  been  put  to  the  use  for  which 
it  was  lent  on  Ulster  Day,  1912.  The  vast  majority  of 
the  citizens,  whose  property  it  was,  thought  it  could  be 
used  for  no  better  purpose  than  to  witness  their  signatures 
to  a  deed  securing  to  them  their  birthright  in  the  British 
Empire. 

At  the  entrance  to  the  City  Hall  Sir  Edward  Carson  was 
received  by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  members  of  the  Corpora- 
tion wearing  their  robes  of  office,  and  by  the  Harbour 
Commissioners,  the  Water  Board,  and  the  Poor  Law 
Guardians,  by  whom  he  was  accompanied  into  the  hall. 
The  text  of  Ulster's  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  had 
been  printed  on  sheets  with  places  for  ten  signatures  on 
each ;  the  first  sheet  lay  on  the  table  for  Edward  Carson 
to  sign. 

No  man  but  a  dullard  without  a  spark  of  imagination 
could  have  witnessed  the  scene  presented  at  that  moment 
without  experiencing  a  thrill  which  he  would  have  found 
it  difficult  to  describe.  The  sunshine,  sending  a  beam 
through  the  stained  glass  of  the  great  window  on  the 
stairway,  threw  warm  tints  of  colour  on  the  marbles  of  the 
columns  and  the  tesselated  floor  of  the  hall,  sparkled  on 
the  Lord  Mayor's  chain,  lent  a  rich  glow  to  the  scarlet 
gowns  of  the  City  Fathers,  and  lit  up  the  red  and  the  blue 
and  the  white  of  the  Imperial  flag  which  draped  the  table 
and  which  was  the  symbol  of  so  much  that  they  revered 
to  those  who  stood  looking  on.  They  were  grouped  in  a 
semicircle  behind  the  leader  as  he  stepped  forward  to 
sign  his  name — men  of  substance,  leaders  in  the  commercial 
life  of  a  great  industrial  city,  elderly  men  many  of  them, 
lovers  of  peace  and  order ;    men  of  mark  who  had  served 


1912]  THE   SCENE   AT  THE   SIGNING  121 

the  Crown,  like  Londonderry  and  Campbell  and  Bcresford  ; 
Doctors  of  Divinity,  guides  and  teachers  of  religion,  like 
the  Bishop  and  the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly ; 
Privy  Councillors  ;  members  of  the  Imperial  Parliament ; 
barristers  and  solicitors,  shopkeepers  and  merchants, — 
there  they  all  stood,  silent  witnesses  of  what  all  felt  to  be 
one  of  the  deeds  that  make  history,  assembled  to  set  their 
hands,  each  in  his  turn,  to  an  Instrument  which,  for  good 
or  evil,  would  influence  the  destiny  of  their  race  ;  while 
behind  them  through  the  open  door  could  be  seen  a  vast 
forest  of  human  heads,  endless  as  far  as  eye  could  reach, 
every  one  of  whom  was  in  eager  accord  with  the  work  in 
hand,  and  whose  blended  voices,  while  they  waited  to 
perform  their  own  part  in  the  great  transaction,  were  carried 
to  the  ears  of  those  in  the  hall  like  the  inarticulate  noise 
of  moving  waters. 

When  Carson  had  signed  the  Covenant  he  handed  the 
silver  pen  to  Londonderry,  and  the  latter's  name  was 
followed  in  order  by  the  signatures  of  the  Moderator  of 
the  General  Assembly,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Down,  Connor, 
and  Dromore  (afterwards  Primate  of  All  Ireland),  the  Dean 
of  Belfast  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Down),  the  General 
Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  President  of 
the  Methodist  Conference,  the  ex-Chairman  of  the  Con- 
gregational Union,  Viscount  Castlereagh,  and  Mr.  James 
Chambers,  M.P.  for  South  Belfast ;  and  the  rest  of  the 
company,  including  the  Right  Hon.  Thomas  Sinclair  and 
the  veteran  Sir  William  Ewart,  as  well  as  the  members  of 
the  Corporation  and  other  public  authorities  and  boards, 
having  attached  their  signatures  to  other  sheets,  the 
general  public  waiting  outside  were  then  admitted. 

The  arrangements  for  signature  by  the  general  public 
had  fully  taxed  the  organising  ability  of  the  specially 
appointed  Ulster  Day  Committee,  and  their  three  hon. 
secretaries,  Mr.  Dawson  Bates,  Mr.  McCammon,  and  Mr. 
Frank  Hall.  They  made  provision  for  signatures  to  be 
received  in  many  hundreds  of  localities  throughout  Ulster, 
but  it  was  impossible  to  estimate  closely  the  numbers  that 
would  require  accommodation  at  the  City  Hall.  Lines  of 
desks,  giving  a  total  desk-space  of  more  than  a  third  of  a 


122   THE  SOLEMN  LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT 

mile,  were  placed  along  both  sides  of  the  corridors  on  the 
upper  and  lower  floors  of  the  building,  which  enabled 
540  persons  to  sign  the  Covenant  simultaneously.  It  all 
worked  wonderfully  smoothly,  largely  because  every 
individual  in  the  multitude  outside  was  anxious  to  help 
in  maintaining  orderly  procedure,  and  behaved  with  the 
greatest  patience  and  willingness  to  follow  directions. 
The  people  were  admitted  to  the  Hall  in  batches  of  400  or 
500  at  a  time,  and  as  there  was  no  confusion  there  was  no 
waste  of  time.  All  through  the  afternoon  and  up  to 
11  p.m.,  when  the  Hall  was  closed,  there  was  an  unceasing 
flow  of  men  eager  to  become  Covenanters.  Immense 
numbers  who  belonged  to  the  Orange  Lodges,  Unionist 
clubs,  or  other  organised  bodies,  marched  to  the  Hall  in 
procession,  and  those  whose  route  lay  through  Royal 
Avenue  had  an  opportunity,  of  which  they  took  the  fullest 
advantage,  of  cheering  Carson,  who  watched  the  memorable 
scene  from  the  balcony  of  the  Reform  Club,  the  quondam 
headquarters  of  Ulster  Liberalism. 

Prominent  and  influential  men  in  the  country  districts 
refrained  from  coming  to  Belfast,  preferring  to  sign  the 
Covenant  with  their  neighbours  in  their  own  localities. 
The  Duke  of  Abercorn,  who  had  been  prevented  by  failing 
health  from  taking  an  active  part  in  the  movement  of  late, 
and  whose  life  unhappily  was  drawing  to  a  close,  signed 
the  Covenant  at  Barons  Court ;  his  son,  the  Marquis  of 
Hamilton,  M.P.  for  Derry,  attached  his  signature  in  the 
Maiden  City  together  with  the  Bishop  ;  another  prelate, 
the  Bishop  of  Clogher,  signed  at  Enniskillen  with  the 
Grand  Master  of  the  Orangemen,  Lord  Erne  ;  at  Armagh, 
the  Primate  of  All  Ireland,  the  Dean,  and  Sir  John 
Lonsdale,  M.P.  (afterwards  Lord  Armaghdale),  headed  the 
list  of  signatures  ;  the  Provost  of  Trinity  College  signed 
in  Dublin  ;  and  at  Ballymena  the  veteran  Presbyterian 
Privy  Councillor,  Mr.  John  Young,  and  his  son  Mr.  William 
Robert  Young,  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council,  and  for  thirty  years  one  of  the  most  zealous  and 
active  workers  for  the  Loyalist  cause,  were  the  first  to 
sign.  But  a  more  notable  Covenanter  than  any  of  these 
local   leaders   was   Lord   Macnaghten,    one   of  the   most 


1912]  SOME  NOTABLE   COVENANTERS  123 

illustrious  of  English  Judges,  whose  great  position  as 
Lord  of  Appeal  did  not  deter  him  from  wholly  identifying 
himself  with  his  native  Ulster,  by  accepting  the  full 
responsibility  of  the  signatories  of  the  Covenant. 

Ulstermen  living  in  other  parts  of  Ireland,  and  in  Great 
Britain,  were  not  forgotten.  Arrangements  were  made 
enabling  such  to  sign  the  Covenant  in  Dublin,  London, 
Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  Manchester,  Liverpool,  Bristol,  and 
York.  Two  curious  details  may  be  added,  which  no 
reader  who  is  alive  to  the  picturesqueness  of  historical 
associations  will  deem  too  trivial  to  be  worth  recording. 
In  Edinburgh  a  number  of  Ulstermen  signed  the  Covenant 
in  the  old  Greyfriars'  Churchyard  on  the  "  Covenanters' 
Stone,"  the  well-Icnown  memorial  of  the  Scottish  Covenant 
of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  and  the  other  incident  was 
that,  among  some  twenty  men  who  signed  the  Covenant  in 
Belfast  with  their  own  blood.  Major  Crawford  was  able  to 
claim  that  he  was  following  a  family  tradition,  inasmuch 
as  a  lineal  ancestor  had  in  the  same  grim  fashion  emphasised 
his  adherence  to  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  in  1638. 

The  most  careful  precautions  were  taken  to  ensure  that 
all  who  signed  were  properly  entitled  to  do  so,  by  requiring 
evidence  to  be  furnished  of  their  Ulster  birth  or  domicile, 
and  references  able  to  corroborate  it.  The  declaration  in 
the  Covenant  itself  that  the  person  signing  had  not  already 
done  so  was  in  order  to  make  sure  that  none  of  the  signa- 
tures should  be  duplicates.  When  the  lists  were  closed — 
they  were  kept  open  for  some  days  after  Ulster  Day — they 
were  very  carefully  scrutinised  by  a  competent  staff  at 
the  Old  Town  Hall,  and  it  is  certain  that  the  numbers  as 
eventually  published  included  no  duplicate  signature  and 
none  that  was  not  genuine.  Precisely  the  same  care  was 
taken  in  the  case  of  the  Declaration  by  which,  in  words 
similar  to  the  Covenant  but  without  its  pledge  for  definite 
action,  the  women  of  Ulster  associated  themselves  with 
the  men  "  in  their  uncompromising  opposition  to  the 
Home  Rule  Bill  now  before  Parliament." 

It  was  not  until  the  22nd  of  November  that  the  scrutiny 
and  verification  of  the  signatures  was  completed,  and  the 
actual  numbers   published.     They   were   as   follows :    In 


124   THE  SOLEMN  LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT 

Ulster  itself  218,206  men  had  registered  themselves  as 
Covenanters,  and  228,991  women  had  signed  the  Declara- 
tion ;  in  the  rest  of  Ireland  and  in  Great  Britain  19,162 
men  and  5,055  women  had  signed.  Thus,  a  grand  total  of 
471,414  Ulster  men  and  women  gave  their  adherence  to 
the  policy  of  which  the  Ulster  Covenant  was  the  solemn 
pledge.  To  every  one  of  these  was  given  a  copy  of  the 
document  printed  on  parchment,  to  be  retained  as  a 
memento,  and  in  thousands  of  cottages  throughout  Ulster 
the  framed  Covenant  hangs  to-day  in  an  honoured  place, 
and  is  the  householder's  most  treasured  possession. 

Although  the  main  business  of  the  day  was  over,  so  far 
as  Carson  and  the  other  leaders  were  concerned,  when  they 
had  signed  the  Covenant  in  the  City  Hall  at  noon,  every 
hour,  and  every  minute  in  the  hour,  until  they  took  their 
departure  in  the  Liverpool  packet  in  the  evening,  was  full 
of  incident  and  excitement.  The  multitude  in  the  streets 
leading  to  the  City  Hall  was  so  densely  packed  that  they 
had  great  difficulty  in  making  their  way  to  the  Reform 
Club,  where  they  were  to  be  entertained  at  lunch.  And, 
as  every  man  and  woman  in  the  crowd  was  desperately 
anxious  the  moment  they  saw  him  to  get  near  enough  to 
Carson  to  shake  him  by  the  hand,  the  pressure  of  the 
swaying  mass  of  humanity  was  a  positive  danger.  Happily 
the  behaviour  of  the  people  was  as  exemplary  as  it  was 
tumultuously  enthusiastic.  The  Times  Special  Corre- 
spondent thus  summed  up  his  impressions  of  the  scene  : 

"  Belfast  did  all  that  a  city  could  do  for  such  an  occasion. 
I  do  not  well  see  how  its  behaviour  could  have  been  more 
impressive.  The  tirelessness  of  the  crowd — it  was  that 
perhaps  which  struck  me  most ;  and,  secondly,  the  good 
conduct  of  the  crowd.  Belfast  had  one  of  the  lowest  of 
its  Saturday  records  for  drunkenness  and  disorderliness 
yesterday.  I  was  in  the  Reform  Club  between  one  and 
three  o'clock.  Again  and  again  I  went  out  on  the  balcony 
and  watched  the  streets.  I  saw  the  procession  of  thousands 
upon  thousands  come  down  Royal  Avenue.  But  this  was 
not  the  only  line  of  march,  for  all  Belfast  was  now  con- 
verging upon  the  City  Hall,  the  arrangements  in  which 
must  have  been  elaborate.     It  was  a  procession  a  descrip- 


1912]        THE   BEHAVIOUR   OF  THE   CROWD  125 

tion  of  which  would  have  been  familiar  to  the  Belfast 
public,  but  the  like  of  which  is  only  seen  in  Ulster." 

The  tribute  here  paid  to  the  conduct  of  the  Belfast  crowd 
was  well  merited.  But  in  this  respect  the  day  of  the 
Covenant  was  not  so  exceptional  as  it  would  have  been 
before  the  beginning  of  the  Ulster  Movement.  Before 
that  period  neither  Belfast  nor  any  part  of  Ulster  could 
have  been  truthfully  described  as  remarkable  for  its 
sobriety.  But  by  the  universal  testimony  of  those  qualified 
to  judge  in  such  matters — police,  clergy  of  all  denomina- 
tions, and  workers  for  social  welfare — the  political  move- 
ment had  a  sobering  and  steadying  influence  on  the  people, 
which  became  more  and  more  noticeable  as  the  movement 
developed,  and  especially  as  the  volunteers  grew  in  numbers 
and  discipline.  The  "  man  in  the  street  "  gained  a  sense 
of  responsibility  from  the  feeling  that  he  formed  one  of  a 
great  company  whom  it  was  his  wish  not  to  discredit,  and 
he  found  occupation  for  mind  and  body  which  diminished 
the  temptations  of  idle  hours. 

From  the  Reform  Club  Carson,  Londonderry,  Beresford, 
and  F.  E.  Smith  went  to  the  Ulster  Club,  just  across  the 
street,  where  they  dined  as  the  guests  of  Lord  Mayor 
McMordie  before  leaving  for  Liverpool ;  and  it  was  outside 
that  dingy  building  that  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people 
reached  a  climax.  None  who  witnessed  it  can  ever  forget 
the  scene,  which  the  English  newspaper  correspondents 
required  all  their  superlatives  to  describe  for  London 
readers  next  day.  Those  superlatives  need  not  be  served 
up  again  here.  One  or  two  bald  facts  will  perhaps  give  to 
anyone  possessing  any  faculty  of  visualisation  as  clear  an 
idea  as  they  could  get  from  any  number  of  dithyrambic 
pages.  The  distance  from  the  Ulster  Club  to  the  quay 
where  the  Liverpool  steamer  is  berthed  is  ordinarily  less 
than  a  ten  minutes'  walk.  The  wagonette  in  which  the 
Ulster  leader  and  his  friends  were  drawn  by  human  muscles 
took  three  minutes  short  of  an  hour  to  traverse  it.  It 
was  estimated  that  into  that  short  space  of  street  some 
70,000  to  100,000  people  had  managed  to  jam  themselves. 
Movement  was  almost  out  of  the  question,  yet  everyone 


126   THE  SOLEMN  LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT 

within  reach  tried  to  press  near  enough  to  grasp  hands 
with  the  occupants  of  the  carriage.  When  at  last  the 
shed  was  reached  the  people  could  not  bear  to  let  Carson 
disappear  through  the  gates.  The  Times  Correspondent 
heard  them  shout,  "  Don't  leave  us,"  "  You  mustn't  leave 
us,"  and,  he  added,  "  It  was  seriously  meant ;  it  was  only 
when  someone  pointed  out  that  Sir  Edward  Carson  had 
work  to  do  in  England  for  Ulster,  that  the  crowd  finally 
gave  way  and  made  an  opening  for  their  hero."  ^  There 
had  been  speeches  from  the  balcony  of  the  Reform  Club 
in  the  afternoon  ;  speeches  from  the  window  of  the  Ulster 
Club  in  the  evening  ;  speeches  outside  the  dock  gates  ; 
speeches  from  the  deck  of  the  steamer  before  departure  ; 
speeches  by  Carson,  by  Londonderry,  by  F.  E.  Smith, 
by  Lord  Charles  Beresford — and  the  purport  of  one  and 
all  of  them  could  be  summed  up  in  the  familiar  phrase, 
"  We  won't  have  it."  But  this  simple  theme,  elaborated 
through  all  the  modulations  of  varied  oratory,  was  one 
of  which  the  Belfast  populace  was  no  more  capable  of 
becoming  weary  than  is  the  music  lover  of  tiring  of  a 
recurrent  leitmotif  in  a  Wagner  opera. 

At  last  the  ship  moved  off,  and  speech  was  no  longer 
possible.  It  was  replaced  by  song,  "  Rule  Britannia  "  ; 
then,  as  the  space  to  the  shore  widened,  "  Auld  Lang 
Syne  "  ;  and  finally,  when  the  figures  lining  the  quay 
were  growing  invisible  in  the  darkness,  those  on  board 
heard  thousands  of  Loyalists  fervently  singing  "  God  save 
the  King." 

1  The  Times,  September  30th,  1912. 


CHAPTER    XI 

PASSING   THE   BILL 

No  part  of  Great  Britain  displayed  a  more  constant  and 
whole-hearted  sympathy  with  the  attitude  of  Ulster  than 
the  city  of  Liverpool.  There  was  much  in  common  between 
Belfast  and  the  great  commercial  port  on  the  Mersey. 
Both  were  the  home  of  a  robust  Protestantism,  which 
perhaps  was  reinforced  by  the  presence  in  both  of  a  quarter 
where  Irish  Nationalists  predominated.  Just  as  West 
Belfast  gave  a  seat  in  Parliament  to  the  most  forceful  of 
the  younger  Nationalist  generation,  Mr.  Devlin,  the 
Scotland  Division  of  Liverpool  had  for  a  generation  been 
represented  by  Mr.  T.  P.  O'Connor,  one  of  the  veteran 
leaders  of  the  Parnellite  period.  In  each  case  the  whole 
of  the  rest  of  the  city  was  uncompromisingly  Conservative, 
and  among  the  members  for  Liverpool  at  the  time  was 
Mr.  F.  E.  Smith,  unquestionably  the  most  brilliant  of  the 
rising  generation  of  Conservatives,  who  had  already 
conspicuously  identified  himself  with  the  Ulster  Movement, 
and  was  a  close  friend  as  well  as  a  political  adherent  of 
Carson.  Among  local  leaders  of  opinion  in  Liverpool 
Alderman  Salvidge  exercised  a  wide  and  powerful  influence 
on  the  Unionist  side. 

It  was  in  accordance  with  the  fitness  of  things,  therefore, 
that  Liverpool  should  have  wished  to  associate  itself  in 
no  doubtful  manner  with  the  men  who  had  just  subscribed 
to  the  Covenant  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel.  Having 
left  Belfast  amid  the  wonderful  scenes  described  in  the 
last  chapter,  Carson,  Londonderry,  F.  E.  Smith,  Beresford, 
and  the  rest  of  the  distinguished  visitors  awoke  next 
morning — if  the  rollers  of  the  Irish  Sea  permitted  sleep — - 
in  the  oily  waters  of  the  Mersey,  to  find  at  the  landing-stage 
a  crowd  that  in  dimensions  and  demeanour  seemed  to  be 
a  duplicate  of  the  one  they  had  left  outside  the  dock  gates 

127 


128  PASSING  THE  BILL 

at  Belfast.  Except  that  the  point  round  which  everjrthing 
had  centred  in  Belfast,  the  signing  of  the  Covenant,  was 
of  course  missing  in  Liverpool,  the  Unionists  of  Liverpool 
were  not  to  be  outdone  by  the  Ulstermen  themselves  in 
their  demonstration  of  loyalty  to  the  Union. 

The  packet  that  carried  the  group  of  leaders  across  the 
Channel  happened  to  be,  appropriately  enough,  the  R.M.S. 
Patriotic.  As  she  steamed  slowly  up  the  river  towards 
Prince's  Landing-stage  in  the  chilly  atmosphere  of  early 
morning  it  was  at  once  evident  that  more  than  the  members 
of  the  deputation  who  had  arranged  to  present  addresses 
to  Carson  were  out  to  welcome  him  to  Liverpool,  and  when 
the  workers  who  thronged  the  river  bank  started  singing 
"  O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past,"  the  sound  was  strangely 
familiar  in  ears  fresh  from  Ulster. 

An  address  from  the  Unionist  working  men  of  Liverpool 
and  district,  presented  by  Alderman  Salvidge,  thanked 
Carson  for  his  "  magnificent  efforts  to  preserve  the  integrity 
of  the  Empire,"  and  assured  him  that  they,  "  Unionist 
workers  of  the  port  which  is  connected  with  Belfast  in  so 
many  ways,  stand  by  Ulster  in  this  great  struggle."  Scenes 
of  intense  enthusiasm  in  the  streets  culminated  in  a  monster 
demonstration  in  Shiel  Park,  at  which  it  was  estimated 
that  close  on  200,000  people  were  present.  In  all  the 
speeches  delivered  and  the  resolutions  adopted  during 
this  memorable  Liverpool  visit  the  same  note  was  sounded, 
of  full  approval  of  the  Covenanters  and  of  determination 
to  support  them  whatever  might  befall. 

The  events  of  the  last  three  months,  and  especially  the 
signing  of  the  Covenant,  had  concentrated  on  Ulster  the 
attention  of  the  whole  United  Kingdom,  not  to  speak  of 
America  and  the  British  oversea  Dominions.  This  was 
not  of  unmixed  advantage  to  the  cause  for  which  Ulster 
was  making  so  determined  a  stand.  There  was  a  tendency 
more  and  more  to  regard  the  opposition  to  Irish  Home 
Rule  as  an  Ulster  question,  and  nothing  else.  The  Unionist 
protagonists  of  the  earlier,  the  Gladstonian,  period  of  the 
struggle,  men  like  Salisbury,  Randolph  Churchill,  Devon- 
shire, Chamberlain,  and  Goschen,  had  treated  it  mainly 
as  an  Imperial  question,  which  it  certainly  was.     In  their 


1912]      HOME   RULE   AN   IMPERIAL   QUESTION      129 

eyes  the  Irish  Loyalists,  of  whom  the  Ulstermen  were  the 
most  important  merely  because  they  happened  to  be 
geographieally  concentrated,  were  valuable  allies  in  a 
contest  vital  to  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  British 
Empire ;  but,  although  the  particular  interests  of  these 
Loyalists  were  recognised  as  possessing  a  powerful  claim 
on  British  sympathy  and  support,  this  was  a  consideration 
quite  secondary  in  comparison  with  the  larger  aspects  of 
Imperial  policy  raised  by  the  demand  for  Home  Rule. 
It  was  an  unfortunate  result  of  the  prominence  into  which 
Ulster  was  forced  after  the  introduction  of  Mr.  Asquith's 
measure  that  these  larger  aspects  gradually  dropped 
away,  and  the  defence  of  the  Union  came  to  be  identified 
almost  completely  in  England  and  Scotland  with  support 
of  the  Ulster  Loyalists.  It  was  to  this  aspect  of  the  case 
that  Mr.  Kipling  gave  prominence  in  the  poem  published 
on  the  day  of  the  Balmoral  meeting,*  although  no  one 
was  less  prone  than  he  to  magnify  a  "  side-show "  in 
Imperial  policy ;  and  it  was  the  same  note  that  again 
was  sounded  on  the  eve  of  the  Covenant  by  another 
distinguished  English  poet.  The  general  feeling  of  be- 
wilderment and  indignation  that  the  only  part  of  Ireland 
which  had  consistently  upheld  the  British  connection 
should  now  be  not  only  thrown  over  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment but  denounced  for  its  obstinate  refusal  to  co-operate 
in  a  separatist  movement,  was  finely  expressed  in  Mr. 
William  Watson's  challenging  poem,  "  Ulster's  Reward," 
which  appeared  in  The  Times  a  few  days  before  the  signing 
of  the  Covenant  in  Belfast : 

"  What  is  the  wage  the  faithful  earn  T 
What  is  a  recompense  fair  and  meet  ? 
Trample  their  fealty  under  your  feet — 
That  is  a  fitting  and  just  return. 

Flout  them,  buf?et  them,  over  them  ride. 
Fling  them  aside  ! 

"  Ulster  is  ours  to  mock  and  spurn. 
Ours  to  spit  upon,  ours  to  deride. 
And  let  it  be  known  and  blazoned  wide 
That  this  is  the  wage  the  faithful  earn: 

Did  she  uphold  us  when  others  defied  ? 
Then  fling  her  aside. 

1  See  ante,  p.  79. 


130  PASSING  THE  BILL 

"  Where  on  the  Earth  was  the  like  of  it  done 
In  the  gaze  of  the  sun  ? 

She  had  pleaded  and  prayed  to  be  counted  still 
As  one  of  our  household  through  good  and  ill. 

And  with  scorn  they  replied  ; 
Jeered  at  her  loyalty,  trod  on  her  pride, 

Spurned  her,  repulsed  her. 

Great-hearted  Ulster ; 
Flung  her  aside." 

Appreciating  to  the  full  the  sympathy  and  support 
which  their  cause  received  from  leading  men  of  letters  in 
England,  it  was  not  the  fault  of  the  Ulstermen  themselves 
that  the  larger  Imperial  aspects  of  the  question  thus  dropped 
into  the  background.  They  continually  strove  to  make 
Englishmen  realise  that  far  more  was  involved  than  loyal 
support  of  England's  only  friends  in  Ireland  ;  they  quoted 
such  pronouncements  as  Admiral  Mahan's  that  "it  is 
impossible  for  a  military  man,  or  a  statesman  with  ap- 
preciation of  military  conditions,  to  look  at  a  map  and 
not  perceive  that  if  the  ambition  of  the  Irish  Separatists 
were  realised,  it  would  be  even  more  threatening  to  the 
national  life  of  Britain  than  the  secession  of  the  South 
was  to  that  of  the  American  Republic.  .  .  .  An  independent 
Parliament  could  not  safely  be  trusted  even  to  avowed 
friends  "  ;  and  they  showed  over  and  over  again,  quoting 
chapter  and  verse  from  Nationalist  utterances,  and 
appealing  to  acknowledged  facts  in  recent  and  contem- 
porary history,  that  it  was  not  to  "  avowed  friends,"  but 
to  avowed  enemies,  that  Mr.  Asquith  was  prepared  to  con- 
cede an  independent  Parliament. 

But  those  were  the  days  before  the  rude  awakening 
from  the  dream  that  the  world  was  to  repose  for  ever  in 
the  soft  wrappings  of  universal  peace.  Questions  of 
national  defence  bored  Englishmen.  The  judgment  of 
the  greatest  strategical  authority  of  the  age  weighed  less 
than  one  of  Lord  Haldane's  verbose  platitudes,  and  the 
urgent  warnings  of  Lord  Roberts  less  than  the  impudent 
snub  administered  to  him  by  an  Under-Secretary.  Speakers 
on  public  platforms  found  that  sympathy  with  Ulster 
carried  a  more  potent  appeal  to  their  audience  than 
any  other  they  could  make  on  the  Irish  question,  and 
they  naturally  therefore  concentrated  attention  upon  it. 


1912]        PUBLIC   SYMPATHY  WITH  ULSTER  131 

Liberals,  excited  alternately  to  fury  and  to  ridicule  by 
the  proceedings  in  Belfast,  heaped  denunciation  on  Carson 
and  the  Covenant,  thereby  impelling  their  opponents  to 
vehement  defence  of  both  ;  and  the  result  of  all  this  was 
that  before  the  end  of  1912  the  sun  of  Imperial  policy 
which  had  drawn  the  homage  of  earlier  defenders  of  the 
Union  was  almost  totally  eclipsed  by  the  moon  of  Ulster. 

When  Parliament  reassembled  for  the  autumn  session 
in  October  the  Prime  Minister  immediately  moved  a 
"  guillotine  "  resolution  for  allotting  time  for  the  remaining 
stages  of  the  Home  Rule  Bill,  and,  in  resisting  this  motion, 
Mr.  Bonar  Law  made  one  of  the  most  convincing  of  his 
many  convincing  speeches  against  the  whole  policy  of  the 
Bill.  It  stands  for  all  time  as  the  complete  demonstration 
of  a  proposition  which  he  argued  over  and  over  again — 
that  Home  Rule  had  never  been  submitted  to  the  British 
electorate,  and  that  that  fact  alone  was  full  justification 
for  Ulster's  resolve  to  resist  it.  It  was  impossible  for  any 
democratic  Minister  to  refute  the  contention  that  even 
if  the  principle  of  the  Government's  policy  had  been  as 
frankly  submitted  to  the  electorate  as  it  had  in  fact  been 
carefully  withheld,  it  would  still  remain  true  that  the 
intensity  of  the  Ulster  opposition  was  itself  a  new  factor 
in  the  situation  upon  which  the  people  were  entitled  to  be 
consulted.  There  was  a  limit,  said  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  to 
the  obligation  to  submit  to  legally  constituted  authority, 
and  that  limit  was  reached  "  in  a  free  country  when  a  body 
of  men,  whether  they  call  themselves  a  Cabinet  or  not, 
propose  to  make  a  great  change  like  this  for  which  they 
have  never  received  the  sanction  of  the  people." 

It  was,  however,  thoroughly  understood  by  every 
member  of  the  House  of  Commons  that  argument,  no 
matter  how  irrefutable,  had  no  effect  on  the  situation, 
which  was  governed  by  the  simple  fact  that  the  life  of  the 
Ministry  depended  on  the  good-will  of  the  Nationalist 
section  of  the  Coalition,  which  rigorously  demanded  the 
passage  of  the  Bill  in  the  current  session,  and  feared  nothing 
so  much  as  the  judgment  of  the  English  people  upon  it. 
Consequently,  under  the  guillotine,  great  blocks  of  the 
Bill,  containing  the  most  far-reaching  constitutional  issues, 


132  PASSING  THE   BILL 

and  matters  vital  to  the  political  and  economic  structure 
of  the  centre  of  the  British  Empire,  were  passed  through 
the  House  of  Commons  by  the  ringing  of  the  division  bells 
without  a  word  of  discussion,  exactly  as  they  had  come 
from  the  pen  of  the  official  draftsman,  and  destined  under 
the  exigencies  of  the  Parliament  Act  procedure  to  be 
forced  through  the  Legislature  in  the  same  raw  condition 
in  the  two  following  sessions. 

This  last-mentioned  fact  suggested  a  consideration  which 
weighed  heavily  on  the  minds  of  the  Ulster  leaders  as  the 
year  1912  drew  to  a  close,  and  with  it  the  debates  on  the 
Bill  in  Committee.  Had  the  time  come  when  they  ought 
to  put  forward  in  Parliament  an  alternative  policy  to  the 
absolute  rejection  of  the  Bill  ?  They  had  not  yet  com- 
pletely abandoned  hope  that  Ministers,  however  re- 
luctantly, might  still  find  it  impossible  to  stave  off  an 
appeal  to  the  country  ;  but  the  opposite  hypothesis  was 
the  more  probable.  If  the  Bill  became  law  in  its  present 
form  they  would  have  to  fall  back  on  the  policy  disclosed  at 
Craigavon  and  embodied  in  the  Covenant.  But,  although 
it  is  true  that  they  had  supported  Mr.  Agar-Robartes's 
amendment  to  exclude  certain  Ulster  counties  from  the 
jurisdiction  to  be  set  up  in  Dublin,  the  Ulster  representa- 
tives were  reluctant  to  make  proposals  of  their  own  which 
might  be  misrepresented  as  a  desire  to  compromise  their 
hostility  to  the  principle  of  Home  Rule.  Under  the 
Parliament  Act  procedure,  however,  they  realised  that  no 
material  change  would  be  allowed  to  be  made  in  the  Bill 
after  it  first  left  the  House  of  Commons,  although  two 
years  would  have  to  elapse  before  it  could  reach  the 
Statute-book ;  if  they  were  to  propound  any  alternative 
to  "  No  Home  Rule  "  it  was,  therefore,  a  case  of  now  or 
never. 

Having  regard  to  the  extreme  gravity  of  the  course  to 
be  followed  in  Ulster  in  the  event  of  the  measure  passing 
into  law,  it  was  decided  that  the  most  honest  and  straight- 
forward thing  to  do  was  to  put  forward  at  the  juncture 
now  reached  a  policy  for  dealing  with  Ulster  separately 
from  the  rest  of  Ireland.  But  in  fulfilment  of  the  promise, 
from  which  he  never  deviated,  to  take  no  important  step 


1913]       SEPARATE   TREATMENT  FOR  ULSTER       133 

without  first  consulting  his  supporters  in  Ulster,  Carson 
went  over  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Standing  Committee 
in  Belfast  on  the  13th  of  December,  where  he  explained 
fully  the  reasons  why  this  policy  was  recommended  by 
himself  and  all  his  parliamentary  colleagues.  It  was  not 
accepted  by  the  Standing  Committee  without  considerable 
discussion,  but  in  the  end  the  decision  was  unanimous, 
and  the  resolution  adopting  it  laid  it  down  that  "  in 
taking  this  course  the  Standing  Committee  firmly  believes 
the  interests  of  Unionists  in  the  three  other  provinces  of 
Ireland  will  be  best  conserved."  In  order  to  emphasise 
that  the  course  resolved  upon  implied  no  compromise  of 
their  opposition  to  the  Bill  as  a  whole.  Sir  Edward  Carson 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  Prime  Minister  during  the  Christmas 
recess,  which  was  published  in  the  Press,  and  which  made 
this  point  clear ;  and  he  pressed  it  home  in  the  House  of 
Commons  on  the  1st  of  January,  1913,  when  he  moved  to 
exclude  "  the  Province  of  Ulster  "  from  the  operation  of 
the  Bill  in  a  speech  of  wonderfully  persuasive  eloquence 
which  deeply  impressed  the  House,  and  which  was  truly 
described  by  Mr.  Asquith  as  "  very  powerful  and  moving," 
and  by  Mr.  Redmond  as  "  serious  and  solemn." 

Carson's  proposal  was  altogether  different  from  what 
was  subsequently  enacted  in  1920.  It  was  consistent  with 
the  uninterrupted  demand  of  Ulster  to  be  let  alone,  it 
asked  for  no  special  privilege,  except  the  privilege,  which 
was  also  claimed  as  an  inalienable  right,  to  remain  a  part 
of  the  United  Kingdom  with  full  representation  at 
Westminster  and  nowhere  else ;  it  required  the  creation 
of  no  fresh  subordinate  constitution  raising  the  difficult 
question  as  to  the  precise  area  which  its  jurisdiction  could 
effectively  administer. 

Carson's  amendment  was,  of  course,  rejected  by  the 
Government's  invariably  docile  majority,  and  on  the 
16th  of  January  the  Home  Rule  Bill  passed  the  third 
reading  in  the  House  of  Commons,  without  the  smallest 
concession  having  been  made  to  the  Ulster  opposition,  or 
the  slightest  indication  as  to  how  the  Government  intended 
to  meet  the  opposition  of  a  different  character  which  was 
being  organised  in  the  North  of  Ireland. 


134  PASSING  THE  BILL 

When  the  Bill  went  to  the  Upper  House  at  the  end  of 
January  the  whole  subject  was  threshed  out  in  a  series  of 
exceedingly    able    speeches;     but    the    impotence    of   the 
Second  Chamber  under  the  Parliament  Act  gave  an  air  of 
pathetic  unreality  to  the  proceedings,  which  was  neatly 
epitomised  by  Lord  Londonderry  in  the  sentence  :  "  The 
position  is,  that  while  the  House  of  Commons  can  vote  but 
not  speak,  the  Lords  can  speak  but  not  vote."     Neverthe- 
less, such  speeches  as  those  of  the  Archbishop  of  York, 
Earl  Grey,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  and  Lord  Londonderry, 
were  not  without  effect  on   opinion  outside.     Earl  Grey, 
an  admitted  authority  on  federal  constitutions,  urged  that 
if,    as    the    Government    were    continually    assuring    the 
country.  Home  Rule  was  the  first  step  in  the  federalisation 
of  the   United    Kingdom,    there   was   every   reason   why 
Ulster  should  be  a  distinct  unit  in  the  federal  system. 
The  Archbishop  dealt  more  fully  with  the  Ulster  question. 
Admitting    that    he    had    formerly    believed    "  that    this 
attitude  of  Ulster  was  something  of  a  scarecrow  made  up 
out  of  old  and  outworn  prejudices,"  he  had  now  to  ac- 
knowledge that  the  men  of  Ulster  were  "  of  all  men  the 
least  likely  to  be  '  drugged  with  the  wine  of  words,'  and 
were  men  who  of  all  other  men  mean  and  do  what  they 
say."     Behind  all  the  glowing  eloquence  of  Mr.  Asquith 
and  Mr.  Redmond,  he  discerned  "  this  figure  of  Ulster, 
grim,    determined,    menacing,    which    no    eloquence    can 
exorcise  and  no  live  statesmanship  can  ignore."     If  the 
result  of  this  legislation  should  be  actual  bloodshed,  then, 
on   whomsoever   might   rest   the   responsibility   for   it,    it 
would  mean  the  shattering  of  all  the  hopes  of  a  united 
and  contented  Ireland  which  it  was  the  aim  of  the  Bill  to 
create.     If  Ulster  made  good  her  threat  of  forcible  resist- 
ance there  was,  said  the  Archbishop,  one  condition,  and 
one  condition  only,  on  which  her  coercion  could  be  justified, 
and  that  was  that  the  Government  "  should  have  received 
from  the  people  of  this  country  an  authority  clear  and 
explicit  "  to  carry  it  out. 

But  among  the  numerous  striking  passages  in  the  debate 
which  occupied  the  Peers  for  four  days,  none  was  more 
telling  than  Lord  Curzon's  picturesque  description  of  how 


1913]      THE   BILL  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  LORDS       135 

Ulster  was  to  be  treated.  "  You  are  compelling  Ulster," 
he  said,  "  to  divorce  her  present  husband,  to  whom  she  is 
not  unfaithful,  and  you  compel  her  to  marry  someone  else 
whom  she  cordially  dislikes,  with  whom  she  does  not 
want  to  live ;  and  you  do  it  because  she  happens  to  be 
rich,  and  because  her  new  partner  has  a  large  and  ravenous 
offspring  to  provide  for.  You  are  asking  rather  too  much 
of  human  nature." 

That  the  Home  Rule  Bill  would  be  rejected  on  second 
reading  by  the  Lords  was  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  it 
was  so  rejected  by  a  majority  of  257  on  the  31st  of  January, 
1913.  The  Bill  then  entered  into  its  period  of  gestation 
under  the  Parliament  Act.  The  session  did  not  come  to 
an  end  until  the  7th  of  March,  and  the  new  session  began 
three  days  afterwards.  It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  the 
fortunes  of  the  Bill  in  Parliament  in  1913,  for  the  process 
was  purely  mechanical,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  requirements 
of  the  Parliament  Act.  The  preparations  for  dealing  with 
the  mischief  it  would  work  went  forward  with  unflagging 
energy  elsewhere. 


10 


CHAPTER    XII 

WAS    RESISTANCE   JUSTIFIABLE  ? 

A  STORY  is  told  of  Queen  Victoria  that  in  her  youthful 
days,  when  studying  constitutional  history,  she  once  asked 
Lord  Melbourne  whether  under  any  circumstances  citizens 
were  justified  in  resisting  legal  authority ;  to  which 
the  old  courtier  replied :  "  When  asked  that  question 
by  a  Sovereign  of  the  House  of  Hanover  I  feel  bound  to 
answer  in  the  affirmative."  If  one  can  imagine  a  similar 
question  being  asked  of  an  Uisterman  by  Mr.  Asquith, 
Mr.  Lloyd  George,  or  Sir  Edward  Grey,  in  1912,  the  reply 
would  surely  have  been  that  such  a  question  asked  by  a 
statesman  claiming  to  be  a  guardian  of  Liberal  principles 
and  of  the  Whig  tradition  could  only  be  answered  in  the 
affirmative.  This,  at  all  events,  was  the  view  of  the 
late  Duke  of  Devonshire,  who  more  than  any  other  states- 
man of  our  time  could  claim  to  be  a  representative  in  his 
own  person  of  the  Whig  tradition  handed  down  from  1688.* 
Passive  obedience  has,  indeed,  been  preached  as  a  political 
dogma  in  the  course  of  English  history,  but  never  by 
apostles  of  Liberalism.  Forcible  resistance  to  legally 
constituted  authority,  even  when  it  involved  repudiation 
of  existing  allegiance,  has  often,  both  in  our  own  and  in 
foreign  countries,  won  the  approval  and  sympathy  of 
English  Liberals.  A  long  line  of  illustrious  names,  from 
Cromwell  and  Lord  Halifax  in  England  to  Kossuth  and 
Mazzini  on  the  Continent,  might  be  quoted  in  support  of 
such  a  proposition  if  an3^one  were  likely  to  challenge  it. 

When,  then,  Liberals  professed  to  be  unutterably 
shocked  by  Ulster's  declared  intention  to  resist  Home  Rule 
both  actively  and  passively,  they  could  not  hav^e  based 
their  attitude  on  the  principle  that  under  no  circumstances 

1  See  Life  of  the  Eighth  Duke  of  Devonshire,  by  Bernard  Holland,  ii, 
pp.  249-51. 

136 


LIBERAL  TRADITION  ON   RESISTANCE        137 

could  such  resistance  be  morally  justified.  Indeed,  in  the 
case  in  question,  there  were  circumstances  that  would 
have  made  the  condemnation  of  Ulster  by  the  English 
Liberal  Party  not  a  little  hypocritical  if  referred  to  any 
general  ethical  principle.  For  that  party  had  itself  been 
for  a  generation  in  the  closest  political  alliance  with  Irish- 
men whose  leader  had  boasted  that  they  were  as  much 
rebels  as  their  fathers  were  in  1798,  and  whose  power  in 
Ireland  had  been  built  up  by  long-sustained  and  systematic 
defiance  of  the  law.  Yet  the  same  politicians  who  had 
excused,  if  they  had  not  applauded,  the  "  Plan  of  Cam- 
paign," and  the  organised  boycotting  and  cattle-driving 
which  had  for  years  characterised  the  agitation  for  Home 
Rule,  were  unspeakably  shocked  when  Ulster  formed  a 
disciplined  Volunteer  force  which  never  committed  an 
outrage,  and  prepared  to  set  up  a  Provisional  Government 
rather  than  be  ruled  by  an  assembly  of  cattle-drivers  in 
Dublin.  Moreover,  many  of  Mr.  Asquith's  supporters, 
and  one  at  least  of  his  most  distinguished  colleagues  in  the 
Cabinet  of  1912,  had  themselves  organised  resistance  to 
an  Education  Act  which  they  disliked  but  had  been  unable 
to  defeat  in  Parliament. 

Nevertheless,  it  must,  of  course,  be  freely  admitted  that 
the  question  as  to  what  conditions  justify  resistance  to 
the  legal  authority  in  the  State — or  rebellion,  if  the  more 
blunt  expression  be  preferred — is  an  exceedingly  difficult 
one  to  answer.  It  would  sound  cynical  to  say,  though 
Carlyle  hardly  shrinks  from  maintaining,  that  success,  and 
success  alone,  redeems  rebellion  from  wickedness  and 
folly.  Yet  it  would  be  difficult  to  explain  on  any  other 
principle  why  posterity  has  applauded  the  Parliamentarians 
of  1643  and  the  Whigs  of  1688,  while  condemning  Mon- 
mouth and  Charles  Edward ;  or  why  Mr.  Gladstone 
sympathised  with  Jefferson  Davis  when  he  looked  like 
winning  and  withdrew  that  sympathy  when  he  had  lost. 
But  if  success  is  not  the  test,  what  is  ?  Is  it  the  aim  of  the 
men  who  resist  ?  The  aim  that  appears  honourable  and 
heroic  to  one  onlooker  appears  quite  the  opposite  to 
another,  and  so  the  test  resolves  itself  into  a  matter  of 
personal  partisanship. 


138  WAS  RESISTANCE  JUSTIFIABLE? 

That  is  probably  as  near  as  one  can  get  to  a  solution  of 
the  question.  Those  who  happen  to  agree  with  the  purpose 
for  which  a  rebellion  takes  place  think  the  rebels  in  the 
right ;  those  who  disagree  think  them  in  the  wrong.  As 
Mr.  Winston  Churchill  succinctly  puts  it  when  commenting 
on  the  strictures  passed  on  his  father  for  "  inciting " 
Ulster  to  resist  Home  Rule,  "  Constitutional  authorities 
will  measure  their  censures  according  to  their  political 
opinions."  He  reminds  us,  moreover,  that  when  Lord 
Randolph  was  denounced  as  a  "  rebel  in  the  skin  of  a 
Tory,"  the  latter  "  was  able  to  cite  the  authority  of  Lord 
Althorp,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Mr.  Morley,  and  the  Prime  Minister 
(Gladstone)  himself,  in  support  of  the  contention  that 
circumstances  might  justify  morall}'',  if  not  technically, 
violent  resistance  and  even  civil  war."  ^ 

To  this  distinguished  catalogue  of  authorities  an  Ulster 
apologist  might  have  added  the  name  of  the  Chief  Secretary 
for  Ireland  in  Mr.  Asquith's  own  Cabinet,  who  admitted 
in  1912  that  "  if  the  religion  of  the  Protestants  were 
oppressed  or  their  property  despoiled  they  would  be  right 
to  fight  * ;  "  which  meant  that  Mr.  Birrell  did  not  condemn 
fighting  in  itself,  provided  he  were  allowed  to  decide  when 
the  occasion  for  it  had  arisen.  Greater  authorities  than 
Mr.  Birrell  held  that  the  Ulster  case  for  resistance  was  a 
good  and  valid  one  as  it  stood.  No  English  statesman  of 
the  last  half-century  has  deservedly  enjoyed  a  higher 
reputation  for  political  probity,  combined  with  sound 
common  sense,  than  the  eighth  Duke  of  Devonshire.  As 
long  ago  as  1893,  when  this  same  issue  had  already  been 
raised  in  circumstances  much  less  favourable  to  Ulster 
than  after  the  passing  of  the  Parliament  Act  in  1911,  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire  said : 

"  The  people  of  Ulster  believe,  rightly  or  wrongly,  that 
under  a  Government  responsible  to  an  Imperial  Parliament 
they  possess  at  present  the  fullest  security  which  they  can 
possess  of  their  personal  freedom,  their  liberties,  and  their 
right  to  transact  their  own  business  in  their  own  way. 
You  have  no  right  to  offer  them  any  inferior  security  to 

1  Life  of  Lord  Randolph  Churchill,  vol.  ii,  p.  65. 

2  Annual  Register,  1912,  p.  82. 


RESISTANCE   AND   LOYALTY  189 

that ;  and  if,  after  weighing  the  character  of  the  Govern- 
ment which  it  is  sought  to  impose  upon  them,  they  resolve 
that  they  are  no  longer  bound  to  obey  a  law  which  does 
not  give  them  equal  and  just  protection  with  their  fellow 
subjects,  who  can  say — how  at  all  events  can  the  descend- 
ants of  those  who  resisted  King  James  II  say,  that  they 
have  not  a  right,  if  they  think  fit,  to  resist,  if  they  think 
they  have  the  power,  the  imposition  of  a  Government 
put  upon  them  by  force  ?  "  ^ 

All  the  same,  there  never  was  a  community  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  to  whom  "  rebellion  "  in  any  real  sense  of  the 
word  was  more  hateful  than  to  the  people  of  Ulster.  They 
traditionally  were  the  champions  of  "  law  and  order  "  in 
Ireland  ;  they  prided  themselves  above  all  things  on  their 
"  loyalty  "  to  their  King  and  to  the  British  flag.  And  they 
never  entertained  the  idea  that  the  movement  which  they 
started  at  Craigavon  in  1911,  and  to  which  they  solemnly 
pledged  themselves  by  their  Covenant  in  the  following 
year,  was  in  the  slightest  degree  a  departure  from  their 
cherished  "  loyalty  " — on  the  contrary,  it  was  an  emphatic 
assertion  of  it.  They  held  firmly,  as  Mr.  Bonar  Law  and 
the  whole  Unionist  party  in  Great  Britain  held  also,  that 
Mr.  Asquith  and  his  Government  were  forcing  Home  Rule 
upon  them  by  unconstitutional  methods.  They  did  not 
believe  that  loyalty  in  the  best  sense — loyalty  to  the 
Sovereign,  to  the  Empire,  to  the  majesty  of  the  law — 
required  of  them  passive  obedience  to  an  Act  of  Parliament 
placed  by  such  means  on  the  Statute-book,  which  they  were 
convinced,  moreover,  was  wholly  repugnant  to  the  great 
majority  of  the  British  people. 

This  aspect  of  the  matter  was  admirably  and  soberly 
presented  by  The  Times  in  one  of  the  many  weighty  articles 
in  which  that  great  journal  gave  undeviating  support  to 
the  Ulster  cause. 

"  A  free  community  cannot  justly,  or  even  constitution- 
ally, be  deprived  of  its  privileges  or  its  position  in  the 
realm  by  any  measure  that  is  not  stamped  with  the  con- 
sidered and  unquestionable  approval  of  the  great  body  of 
d.ectors   of  the   United   Kingdom.     Any   attempt   so   to 

1  Bernard  Holland's  Life  of  the  Eighth  Duke  of  Devcnishire^  ii,  250. 


140  WAS   RESISTANCE  JUSTIFIABLE? 

deprive  them  is  a  fraud  upon  their  fundamental  rights, 
which  they  are  justified  in  resisting,  as  an  act  of  violence, 
by  any  means  in  their  power.  This  is  elementary  doctrine, 
borne  out  by  the  whole  course  of  English  history."  ^ 

That  the  position  was  paradoxical  calls  for  no  denial ; 
but  the  pith  of  the  paradox  lay  in  the  fact  that  a  movement 
denounced  as  "  rebellious  "  by  its  political  opponents  was 
warmly  supported  not  only  by  large  masses,  probably  by 
the  majority,  of  the  people  of  this  country,  but  by  numbers 
of  individuals  of  the  highest  character,  occupying  stations 
of  great  responsibility.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  men 
engaged  in  actual  political  conflict,  whom  some  people 
appear  to  think  capable  of  any  wickedness,  no  one  can 
seriously  suggest  that  men  like  Lord  Macnaghten,  like  the 
late  and  present  Primates  of  Ireland,  like  the  late  Provost 
of  Trinity,  like  many  other  sober  thinkers  who  supported 
Ulster,  were  men  who  would  lightly  lend  themselves  to 
"  rebellion,"  or  any  other  wild  and  irresponsible  adventure. 
As  The  Times  very  truly  observed  in  a  leading  article  in 
1912  : 

"  We  remember  no  precedent  in  our  domestic  history 
since  the  Revolution  of  1688  for  a  movement  among 
citizens,  law-abiding  by  temperament  and  habit,  which 
resembles  the  present  movement  of  the  Ulster  Protestants. 
It  is  no  rabble  who  have  undertaken  it.  It  is  the  work  of 
orderly,  prosperous,  and  deeply  religious  men."  * 

Nor  did  the  paradox  end  there.  If  the  Ulster  Movement 
was  "  rebellious,"  its  purpose  was  as  paradoxical  as  its 
circumstances.  It  had  in  it  no  subversive  element.  In  this 
respect  it  stands  (so  far  as  the  writer's  knowledge  goes) 
without  precedent,  a  solitary  instance  in  the  history  of 
mankind.  The  world  has  witnessed  rebellions  without 
number,  designed  to  bring  about  many  different  results — 
to  emancipate  a  people  from  oppression,  to  upset  an 
obnoxious  form  of  Government,  to  expel  or  to  restore  a 
rival  dynasty,  to  transfer  allegiance  from  one  Sovereign 

1  The  Times,  July  14th,  1913. 

2  Ibid.,  August  22nd,  1913. 


TO   MAINTAIN   THE   STATUS   QUO  141 

or  one  State  to  another.  But  has  there  ever  been  a 
"  rebellion  "  the  object  of  which  was  to  maintain  the 
status  quo  ?  Yet  that  was  the  sole  purpose  of  the  Ulster- 
men  in  all  they  did  from  1911  to  1914.  That  fact,  which 
distinguished  their  movement  from  every  rebellion  or 
revolution  in  history,  placed  them  on  a  far  more  solid 
ground  of  reasonable  justification  than  the  excuse  offered 
by  Mr.  Churchill  for  their  bellicose  attitude  in  his  father's 
day.  Although  he  is  no  doubt  right  in  saying  that  "  When 
men  are  sufficiently  in  earnest  they  will  back  their  words 
with  more  than  votes,"  it  is  a  plea  that  would  cover  alike 
the  conduct  of  Halifax  and  the  other  Whigs  who  resisted  the 
legal  authority  of  James  II,  of  the  Jacobites  who  fought 
for  his  grandson,  and  of  the  contrivers  of  many  another 
bloody  or  bloodless  Revolution.  But  there  was  nothing 
revolutionary  in  the  Ulster  Movement.  It  was  resistance 
to  the  transfer  of  a  people's  allegiance  without  their 
consent ;  to  their  forcible  expulsion  from  a  Constitution 
with  which  they  were  content  and  their  forcible  inclusion 
in  a  Constitution  which  they  detested.  This  was  the  very 
antithesis  of  Revolution.  English  Radical  writers  and 
politicians  might  argue  that  no  "  transfer  of  allegiance  " 
was  contemplated ;  but  Ulstermen  thought  they  knew 
better,  and  the  later  development  of  the  Irish  question 
proved  how  right  they  were.  Even  had  they  been  proved 
wrong  instead  of  right  in  their  conviction  that  the  true  aim 
of  Irish  Nationalism  (a  term  in  which  Sinn  Fein  is  included) 
Avas  essentially  separatist,  they  knew  better  than  English- 
men how  little  reality  there  was  in  the  theory  that  under 
the  proposed  Home  Rule  their  allegiance  would  be  un- 
affected and  their  political  status  suffer  no  degradation. 
They  claimed  to  occupy  a  position  similar  to  that  of  the 
North  in  the  American  Civil  War — with  this  difference, 
which,  so  far  as  it  went,  told  in  their  favom',  that  whereas 
Lincoln  took  up  arms  to  resist  secession,  they  were  prepared 
to  do  so  to  resist  expulsion,  the  purpose  in  both  cases, 
however,  being  to  preserve  union.  The  practical  view  of 
the  question,  as  it  would  appear  in  the  eyes  of  ordinary 
men,  was  well  expressed  by  Lord  Curzon  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  when  he  said  : 


142  WAS  RESISTANCE  JUSTIFIABLE? 

"  The  people  of  this  country  will  be  very  loth  to  condemn 
those  whose  only  disloyalty  it  will  be  to  have  been  excessive 
in  their  loyalty  to  the  King.  Do  not  suppose  that  the 
people  of  this  country  will  call  those  '  rebels  '  whose  only 
form  of  rebellion  is  to  insist  on  remaining  under  the  Imperial 
Parliament."  ^ 

Of  course,  men  like  Sir  Edward  Carson,  Lord  London- 
derry, Mr.  Thomas  Sinclair,  and  other  Ulster  leaders  were 
too  far-seeing  not  to  realise  that  the  course  they  were 
taking  would  expose  them  to  the  accusation  of  having  set 
a  bad  example  which  others  without  the  same  grounds  of 
justification  might  follow  in  very  different  circumstances. 
But  this  was  a  risk  they  had  to  shoulder,  as  have  all  who 
are  not  prepared  to  subscribe  to  the  dogma  of  Passive 
Obedience  without  limit.  They  accepted  it  as  the  less  of 
two  evils.  But  there  was  something  humorous  in  the 
pretence  put  forward  in  1916  and  afterwards  that  the 
violence  to  which  the  adherents  of  Sinn  Fein  had  recourse 
was  merely  copying  Ulster.  As  if  Irish  Nationalism  in 
its  extreme  form  required  precedent  for  insurrection  ! 
Even  the  leader  of  "  Constitutional  Nationalism  "  himself 
had  traced  his  political  pedigree  to  convicted  rebels  like 
Tone  and  Emmet,  and  since  the  date  of  those  heroes  there 
had  been  at  least  two  armed  risings  in  Ireland  against  the 
British  Crown  and  Government.  If  the  taunt  flung  at 
Ulstermen  had  been  that  they  had  at  last  thrown  overboard 
law  and  order  and  had  stolen  the  Nationalist  policy  of 
active  resistance,  there  would  at  least  have  been  superficial 
plausibility  in  it.  But  when  it  was  suggested  or  implied 
that  the  Ulster  example  was  actually  responsible  in  any 
degree  whatever  for  violent  outbreaks  in  the  other  pro- 
vinces, a  supercilious  smile  was  the  only  possible  retort 
from  the  lips  of  representatives  of  Ulster. 

But  what  caused  them  some  perplexity  was  the  dis- 
position manifested  in  certain  quarters  in  England  to  look 
upon  the  two  parties  in  Ireland  in  regard  to  "  rebellion  " 
as  "  six  of  one  and  half  a  dozen  of  the  other."  It  has 
always,  unhappily,  been  characteristic  of  a  certain  type  of 
Englishman  to  see  no  difference  between  the  friends  and 

1  Parliamentary  Debates  (Hcoise  of  Lords),  July  15th,  1918. 


THE   IMPORTANCE   OF  THE  MOTIVE  113 

the  enemies  of  his  country,  and,  if  he  has  a  preference  at 
all,  to  give  it  to  the  latter.  Apart  from  all  other  circum- 
stances which  in  the  eyes  of  Ulstermen  justified  them  up 
to  the  liilt  in  the  policy  they  pursued,  apart  from  everything 
that  distinguished  them  historically  and  morally  from 
Irish  "  rebels,"  there  was  the  patent  and  all-important  fact 
that  the  motive  of  their  opponents  was  hostility  to  England, 
whereas  their  own  motive  was  friendliness  and  loyalty  to 
England.  In  that  respect  they  never  wavered.  If  the 
course  of  events  had  ever  led  to  the  employment  of  British 
troops  to  crush  the  resistance  of  Ulster  to  Home  Rule,  the 
extraordinary  spectacle  would  have  been  presented  to  the 
wondering  world  of  the  King's  soldiers  shooting  down  men 
marching  under  the  British  flag  and  singing  "  God  save 
the  King." 

It  was  no  doubt  because  this  was  very  generally  under- 
stood in  England  that  the  sympathies  of  large  masses  of 
law-loving  people  were  never  for  a  moment  alienated  from 
the  men  of  Ulster  by  all  the  striving  of  their  enemies  to 
brand  them  as  rebels.  Constitutional  authorities  may,  as 
Mr.  Churchill  says,  "  measure  their  censures  according  to 
their  political  opinions,"  but  the  generality  of  men,  who 
are  not  constitutional  authorities,  whose  political  opinions, 
if  they  have  any,  are  fluctuating,  and  who  care  little  for 
"  juridical  niceties,"  will  measure  their  censures  according 
to  their  instinctive  sympathies.  And  the  sound  instinct 
of  Englishmen  forbade  them  to  blame  men  who,  if  rebels 
in  law,  were  their  firm  friends  in  fact,  for  taking  exceptional 
and  even  illegal  measures,  when  all  others  failed,  to  preserve 
the  full  unity  which  they  regarded  as  the  fruit  of  that 
friendship. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

PROVISIONAL   GOVERNMENT   AND   PROPAGANDA 

By  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Abercorn  on  the  3rd  of  January, 
1913,  the  Ulster  Loyalists  lost  a  leader  who  had  for  many 
years  occupied  a  very  special  place  in  their  affection  and 
confidence.  Owing  to  failing  health  he  had  been  unable 
to  take  an  active  part  in  the  exciting  events  of  the  past 
two  years,  but  the  messages  of  encouragement  and  support 
which  were  read  from  him  at  Craigavon,  Balmoral,  and 
other  meetings  for  organising  resistance,  were  always 
received  with  an  enthusiasm  which  showed,  and  was 
intended  to  show,  that  the  great  part  he  had  played  in 
former  years,  and  especially  his  inspiring  leadership  as 
Chairman  of  the  Ulster  Convention  in  1893,  had  never 
been  forgotten. 

His  death  inflicted  also,  indirectly,  another  blow  which 
at  this  particular  moment  was  galling  to  loyalists  out  of 
all  proportion  to  its  intrinsic  importance.  The  removal 
to  the  House  of  Lords  of  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  the 
member  for  Derry  city,  created  a  vacancy  which  was  filled 
at  the  ensuing  by-election  by  a  Liberal  Home  Ruler. 
To  lose  a  seat  anywhere  in  the  north-eastern  counties  at 
such  a  critical  time  in  the  movement  was  bad  enough,  but 
the  unfading  halo  of  the  historic  siege  rested  on  Derry  as 
on  a  sanctuary  of  Protestantism  and  loyalty,  so  that  the 
capture  of  the  "  Maiden  City  "  by  the  enemy  wounded 
loyalist  sentiment  far  more  deeply  than  the  loss  of  any 
other  constituency.  The  two  parties  had  been  for  some 
time  very  nearly  evenly  balanced  there,  and  every  elec- 
tioneering art  and  device,  including  that  of  bringing  to  the 
poll  voters  who  had  long  rested  in  the  cemetery,  was 
practised  in  Derry  with  unfailing  zeal  and  zest  by  party 
managers.  For  some  time  past  trade,  especially  ship- 
building, had  been  in  a  state  of  depression  in  Derry,  with 

144 


1918]  THE   CAPTURE  OF  DERRY  145 

the  result  that  a  good  many  of  the  better  class  of  artisans, 
who  were  uniformly  Unionist,  had  gone  to  Belfast  and 
elsewhere  to  find  work,  leaving  the  political  fortunes  of 
the  city  at  the  mercy  of  the  casual  labourer  who  drifted 
in  from  the  wilds  of  Donegal,  and  who  at  this  election 
managed  to  place  the  Home  Rule  candidate  in  a  majority 
of  fifty-seven. 

It  was  a  matter  of  course  that  the  late  Duke's  place  as 
President  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  should  be  taken 
by  Lord  Londonderry,  and  it  happened  that  the  annual 
meeting  at  which  he  was  formally  elected  was  held  on  the 
same  day  that  witnessed  the  rejection  of  the  Home  Rule 
Bill  by  the  House  of  Lords. 

It  was  also  at  this  annual  meeting  (31st  January,  1913) 
that  the  special  Commission  who  had  been  charged  to 
prepare  a  scheme  for  the  Provisional  Government,  presented 
their  draft  Report.  The  work  had  been  done  with  great 
thoroughness  and  was  adopted  without  substantial  altera- 
tion by  the  Council,  but  was  not  made  public  for  several 
months.  The  Council  itself  was,  in  the  event  of  the 
Provisional  Government  being  set  up,  to  constitute  a 
"  Central  Authority,"  and  provision  was  made,  with 
complete  elaboration  of  detail,  for  carrying  on  all  the 
necessary  departments  of  administration  by  different 
Committees  and  Boards,  whose  respective  functions  were 
clearly  defined.  Among  those  who  consented  to  serve 
in  these  departmental  Committees,  in  addition  to  the 
recognised  local  leaders  in  the  Ulster  Movement,  were  Dr. 
Crozier,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  the  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland, 
Lord  Charles  Beresford,  Major-General  Montgomery, 
Colonel  Thomas  Hickman,  M.P.,  Lord  Claud  Hamilton, 
M.P.,  Sir  Robert  Kennedy,  K.C.M.G.,  and  Sir  Charles 
Macnaghten,  K.C.,  son  of  Lord  Macnaghten,  the  dis- 
tinguished Lord  of  Appeal.  Ulster  at  this  time  gave  a 
lead  on  the  question  of  admitting  women  to  political  power, 
at  a  time  when  their  claim  to  enfranchisement  was  being 
strenuously  resisted  in  England,  by  including  several 
women  in  the  Provisional  Government. 

A  most  carefully  drawn  scheme  for  a  separate  judiciary 


146  PROVISIONAL   GOVERNMENT 

in  Ulster  had  been  prepared  with  the  assistance  of  some 
of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  Ireland.  It  was  in  three  parts, 
dealing  respectively  with  (a)  the  Supreme  Court,  {b)  the 
Land  Commission,  and  (c)  County  Courts  ;  it  was  drawn 
up  as  an  Ordinance,  in  the  usual  form  of  a  Parliamentary 
Bill,  and  it  is  an  indication  of  the  spirit  in  which  Ulster 
was  preparing  to  resist  an  Act  of  Parliament  that  the 
Ordinance  bore  the  introductory  heading :  "  /i  is  Hereby 
Enacted  by  the  Central  Authority  in  the  name  of  the  King^s 

Most  Excellent  Majesty  that "     Similarly,  the  form  of 

"  Oath  or  Declaration  of  Adherence  "  to  be  taken  by 
Judges,  Magistrates,  Coroners,  and  other  officers  of  the 
Courts,  set  out  in  a  Schedule  to  the  Ordinance,  was  :  "  I .  .  . 
of  .  .  .  being  about  to  serve  in  the  Courts  of  the  Provisional 
Government  as  the  Central  Authority  for  His  Majesty  the 
King,  etc." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  original  resolution  by 
which  the  Council  decided  to  set  up  a  Provisional  Govern- 
ment limited  its  duration  until  Ulster  should  "  again 
resume  unimpaired  her  citizenship  in  the  United  King- 
dom," ^  and  at  a  later  date  it  was  explicitly  stated  that 
it  was  to  act  as  trustee  for  the  Imperial  Parliament.  All 
the  forms  prepared  for  use  while  it  remained  in  being 
purported  to  be  issued  in  the  name  of  the  King.  And  the 
Resolution  adopted  by  the  Unionist  Council  immediately 
after  constituting  itself  the  Central  Authority  of  the 
Provisional  Government,  in  which  the  reasons  for  that 
policy  were  recorded,  concluded  with  the  statement  that 
"  we,  for  our  part,  in  the  course  we  have  determined  to 
pursue,  are  inspired  not  alone  by  regard  to  the  true  welfare 
of  our  own  country,  but  by  devotion  to  the  interests  of 
our  world-wide  Empire  and  loyalty  to  our  beloved  King." 
If  this  was  the  language  of  rebels,  it  struck  a  note  that 
can  never  before  have  been  heard  in  a  chorus  of  dis- 
affection. 

The  demonstrations  against  the  Government's  policy 
which  had  been  held  during  the  last  eighteen  months,  of 
which  some  account  has  been  given,  were  so  impressive 
that  those  which  followed  were  inevitably  less  remarkable 

*  See  ante,  p.  53. 


1013]      BRITISH   LEAGUE   TO   SUPPORT  ULSTER  147 

by  comparison.  They  were,  too,  necessarily  to  a  large 
extent,  repetitions  of  what  had  gone  before.  There  might 
be,  and  there  were,  plenty  of  variations  on  the  old  theme, 
but  there  was  no  new  theme  to  introduce.  Propaganda 
to  the  extent  possible  with  the  resources  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  was  carried  on  in  the  British 
constituencies  in  1913,  the  cost  being  defrayed  chiefly 
through  generous  subscriptions  collected  by  the  energy 
and  influence  of  ]Mr.  Walter  Long  ;  but  many  were  be- 
ginning to  share  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Charles  Craig,  M.P., 
who  scandalised  the  Radicals  by  saying  at  Antrim  in 
March  that,  while  it  was  incumbent  on  Ulstermen  to  do 
their  best  to  educate  the  electorate,  "  he  believed  that, 
as  an  argument,  ten  thousand  pounds  spent  on  rifles  would 
be  a  thousand  times  stronger  than  the  same  amount  spent 
on  meetings,  speeches,  and  pamphlets." 

On  the  27th  of  March  a  letter  appeared  in  the  London 
newspapers  announcing  the  formation  of  a  "  British  League 
for  the  support  of  Ulster  and  the  Union,"  with  an  office 
in  London.  It  was  signed  by  a  hundred  Peers  and  120 
Unionist  Members  of  the  House  of  Commons.  The 
manifesto  emphasised  the  Imperial  aspect  of  the  great 
struggle  that  was  going  on,  asserting  that  it  was  "  quite 
clear  that  the  men  of  Ulster  are  not  fighting  only  for  their 
own  liberties.  Ulster  will  be  the  field  on  which  the 
privileges  of  the  whole  nation  will  be  lost  or  won."  A 
small  executive  Committee  was  appointed,  with  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  as  Chairman,  and  within  a  few  weeks  large 
numbers  of  people  in  all  parts  of  the  country  joined  the 
new  organisation.  A  conference  attended  by  upwards  of 
150  honorary  agents  from  all  parts  of  the  country  was  held 
at  Londonderry  House  on  the  4th  of  June,  where  the  work 
of  the  League  was  discussed,  and  its  future  policy  arranged. 
Its  operations  were  not  ostentatious,  but  they  were  far 
from  being  negligible,  especially  in  connection  with  later 
developments  of  the  movement  in  the  following  year. 
This  proof  of  British  support  was  most  encouraging  to  the 
people  of  Ulster,  and  the  Dublin  correspondent  of  The 
Times  reported  that  it  gave  no  less  satisfaction  to  loyalists 
in  other  parts  of  Ireland,  among  whom,  as  the  position 


148  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT 

became  more  desperate  every  day,  there  was   "  not  the 
least  sign  of  giving  way,  of  accepting  the  inevitable." 

Every  month  that  passed  in  uncertainty  as  to  what  fate 
was  reserved  for  Ulster,  and  especially  every  visit  of  the 
leader  to  Belfast,  endeared  him  more  intensely  to  his 
followers,  who  had  long  since  learnt  to  give  him  their 
unquestioning  trust ;  and  his  bereavement  by  the  death 
of  his  wife  in  April  1913  brought  him  the  profound  and 
affectionate  sympathy  of  a  warm-hearted  people,  which 
manifested  itself  in  most  moving  fashion  at  a  great  meeting 
a  month  later  on  the  16th  of  May,  when,  at  the  opening 
of  a  new  drill  hall  in  the  most  industrial  district  of  Belfast, 
Sir  Edward  exclaimed,  in  response  to  a  tumultuous  re- 
ception, "  Heaven  knows,  my  one  affection  left  me  is  my 
love  of  Ireland." 

He  took  occasion  at  the  same  meeting  to  impress  upon 
his  followers  the  spirit  by  which  all  their  actions  should  be 
guided,  and  which  always  guided  his  own.  With  a  signi- 
ficant reference  to  the  purposes  for  which  the  new  drill  hall 
might  be  used,  he  added,  "  Always  remember — this  is 
essential — always  remember  you  have  no  quarrel  with 
individuals.  We  welcome  and  we  love  every  individual 
Irishman,  even  though  he  may  be  opposed  to  us.  Our 
quarrel  is  with  the  Government."  When  the  feelings  of 
masses  of  men  are  deeply  stirred  in  political  conflict  such 
exhortations  are  never  superfluous  ;  and  there  never  was 
a  leader  who  could  give  them  with  better  grace  than  Sir 
Edward  Carson,  who  himself  combined  to  an  extraordinary 
degree  strength  of  conviction  with  entire  freedom  from 
bitterness  towards  individual  opponents.^ 

In  this  same  speech  he  showed  that  there  was  no  slacken- 
ing of  determination  to  pursue  to  the  end  the  policy  of  the 
Covenant.  There  had  been  rumours  that  the  Government 
were  making  secret  inquiries  with  a  view  to  taking  legal 
proceedings,  and  in  allusion  to  them  Carson  moved  his 
audience  to  one  of  the  most  wonderful  demonstrations  of 
personal  devotion  that  even  he  ever  evoked,  by  saying  ; 
"  If  they  want  to  test  the  legality  of  anything  we  are 

1  But  he  could  be  moved  to  stern  indignation  by  the  treachery  of  former 
friends,  as  he  showed  in  December  1921. 


r 


1913]      VISITS  TO   BRITISH  CONSTITUENCIES         149 

doing,  let  them  not  attack  humble  men — I  am  responsible 
for  everything,  and  they  know  where  to  find  me." 

The  Bill  was  running  its  course  for  the  second  time 
through  Parliament,  a  course  that  was  now  farcically 
perfunctory,  and  Carson  returned  to  London  to  repeat  in 
the  House  of  Commons  on  the  10th  of  June  his  defiant 
acceptance  of  responsibility  for  the  Ulster  preparations. 
He  was  back  in  Belfast  for  the  12th  of  July  celebrations, 
when  150,000  Orangemen  assembled  at  Craigavon  to  hear 
another  speech  from  their  leader  full  of  confident  challenge, 
and  to  receive  another  message  of  encouragement  from 
Mr.  Bonar  Law,  who  assured  them  that  "  whatever  steps 
they  might  feel  compelled  to  take,  whether  they  were 
constitutional,  or  whether  in  the  long  run  they  were 
unconstitutional,  they  had  the  whole  of  the  Unionist 
Party  under  his  leadership  behind  them." 

The  leader  of  the  Unionist  Party  had  good  reason  to 
know  that  his  message  to  Ulster  was  endorsed  by  his 
followers.  That  had  been  demonstrated  beyond  all  possi- 
bility of  doubt  during  the  preceding  month.  The  Ulster 
Unionist  Meml)ers  of  the  House  of  Commons,  with  Carson 
at  their  head,  had  during  June  made  a  tour  of  some  of 
the  principal  towns  of  Scotland  and  the  North  of  England, 
receiving  a  resounding  welcome  wherever  they  went.  The 
usual  custom  of  political  meetings,  where  one  or  two 
prominent  speakers  have  the  platform  to  themselves,  was 
departed  from ;  the  whole  parliamentary  contingent  kept 
together  throughout  the  tour  as  a  deputation  from  Ulster 
to  the  constituencies  visited,  taking  in  turn  the  duty  of 
supporting  Carson,  who  was  everywhere  the  principal 
speaker. 

There  were  wonderful  demonstrations  at  Glasgow  and 
Edinburgh,  both  in  the  streets  and  the  principal  halls, 
proving,  as  was  aptly  said  by  The  Yorkshire  Post,  that 
*'  the  cry  of  the  new  Covenanters  is  not  unheeded  by  the 
descendants  of  the  old  "  ;  and  thence  they  went  south, 
drawing  great  cheering  crowds  to  welcome  them  and  to 
present  encouraging  addresses  at  the  railway  stations  at 
Berwick,  Newcastle,  Darlington,  and  York,  to  Leeds,  where 
the  two  largest  buildings  in  the  city  were  packed  to  over- 


150  PROVISIONAL   GOVERNMENT 

flowing  with  Yorkshiremen  eager  to  see  and  hear  the 
Ulster  leader,  and  to  show  their  sympathy  with  the  loyalist 
cause.  Similar  scenes  were  witnessed  at  Norwich  and 
Bristol,  and  the  tour  left  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  followed  it,  and  who  studied  the  comments  of  the 
Press  upon  it,  that  not  only  was  the  whole  Unionist  Party 
in  Great  Britain  solidly  behind  the  Ulstermen  in  their 
resolve  to  resist  being  subjected  to  a  Parliament  in  Dublin, 
but  that  the  general  drift  of  opinion  detached  from  party 
was  increasingly  on  the  same  side. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

LORD   LOREBURN's    LETTER 

Whatever  might  be  the  state  of  public  opinion  in  England, 
it  was  realised  that  the  Government,  if  they  chose,  were 
in  a  position  to  disregard  it ;  and  in  Ulster  the  tension 
was  becoming  almost  unbearable.  The  leaders  were  ap- 
prehensive lest  outbreaks  of  violence  should  occur,  which 
they  knew  would  gravely  prejudice  the  movement  ;  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  only  the  discipline  which  the 
rank  and  file  had  now  gained,  and  the  extraordinary 
restraining  influence  which  Carson  exercised,  that  prevented 
serious  rioting  in  many  places.  Incidents  like  the  attack 
by  Nationalist  roughs  in  Belfast  on  a  carriage  conveying 
crippled  children  to  a  holiday  outing  on  the  31st  of  May 
because  it  was  decorated  with  Union  Jacks  might  at  any 
moment  lead  to  trouble.  There  was  some  disorder  in 
Belfast  in  the  early  hours  of  the  12th  of  July  ;  and  an 
outbreak  occurred  in  August  in  Derry,  always  a  storm 
centre,  when  a  procession  was  attacked,  and  a  Protestant 
was  shot  while  watching  it  from  his  own  upper  window. 
The  incident  started  rioting,  which  continued  for  several 
days,  and  a  battalion  of  troops  had  to  be  called  in  to 
restore  order. 

Meantime,  throughout  the  summer,  while  the  Govern- 
ment were  complacently  carrying  their  Bill  through 
Parliament  for  the  second  time,  the  Press  was  packed  with 
suggestions  for  averting  the  crisis  which  everybody  except 
the  Cabinet  recognised  as  impending. 

It  began  to  be  whispered  in  the  clubs  and  lobbies  that 
the  King  might  exercise  the  prerogative  of  veto,  and  even 
men  like  Lord  St.  Aldwyn  and  the  veteran  Earl  of  Halsbury, 
both  of  them  ex-Cabinet  Ministers,  encouraged  the  idea ; 
but  there  was  no  widespread  acceptance  of  the  notion  that 
11  151 


152       LORD  LOREBURN'S  LETTER 

even  in  so  exceptional  a  case  His  Majesty  would  reject 
the  advice  of  his  responsible  Ministers.  But  in  a  letter 
to  The  Times  on  the  4th  of  September,  Mr.  George  Cave, 
K.C.,  M.P.  (afterwards  Home  Secretary,  and  ultimately 
Lord  of  Appeal),  suggested  that  the  King  might  "  exercise 
his  undoubted  right  "  to  dissolve  Parliament  before  the 
beginning  of  the  next  session,  in  order  to  inform  himself 
as  to  whether  the  policy  of  his  Ministers  was  endorsed  by 
the  people. 

But  a  much  greater  sensation  was  created  a  few  days 
later  by  a  letter  which  appeared  in  The  Times  on  the  11th 
of  the  same  month  over  the  signature  of  Lord  Loreburn. 
Lord  Loreburn  had  been  Lord  Chancellor  at  the  time  the 
Home  Rule  Bill  was  first  introduced,  but  had  retired  from 
the  Government  in  June  1912,  being  replaced  on  the  Wool- 
sack by  Lord  Haldane.  When  the  first  draft  of  the  Home 
Rule  Bill  was  under  discussion  in  the  Cabinet  in  preparation 
for  its  introduction  in  the  House  of  Commons,  two  of  the 
younger  Ministers,  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Mr.  Winston 
Churchill,  proposed  that  an  attempt  should  be  made  to 
avert  the  stern  opposition  to  be  expected  from  Ulster,  by 
treating  the  northern  Province,  or  a  portion  of  it,  separately 
from  the  rest  of  Ireland.  This  proposal  was  not  acceptable 
to  the  Cabinet  as  a  whole,  and  its  authors  were  roundly 
rated  by  Lord  Loreburn  for  so  unprincipled  a  lapse  from 
orthodox  Gladstonian  doctrine.  What,  therefore,  must 
have  been  the  astonishment  of  the  heretics  when  they 
found  their  mentor,  less  than  two  years  later,  publicly 
reproving  the  Government  which  he  had  left  for  having 
got  into  such  a  sad  mess  over  the  Ulster  difficulty  !  They 
might  be  forgiven  some  indignation  at  finding  themselves 
reproved  by  Lord  Loreburn  for  faulty  statesmanship  of 
which  Lord  Loreburn  was  the  principal  author. 

Those,  however,  who  had  not  the  same  ground  for 
exasperation  as  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Mr.  Churchill  thought 
Lord  Loreburn's  letter  very  sound  sense.  He  pointed  out 
that  if  the  Bill  were  to  become  law  in  1914,  as  it  stood  in 
September  1913,  there  would  be,  if  not  civil  war,  at  any 
rate  very  serious  rioting  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  when 
the  riots  had  been  quelled  by  the  Government  the  spirit 


1918]  A  CONFERENCE   SUGGESTED  158 

that  prompted  them  would  remain.  Everybody  concerned 
would  suffer  from  fighting  it  out  to  a  finish.  The  Ex- 
Chancellor  felt  bound  to  assume  that  "  up  to  the  last, 
Ministers,  who  assuredly  have  not  taken  leave  of  their 
senses,  would  be  willing  to  consider  proposals  for  accom- 
modation," and  he  therefore  suggested  that  a  Conference 
should  be  held  behind  closed  doors  with  a  view  to  a  settle- 
ment by  consent.  If  Lord  Loreburn  had  perceived  at  the 
time  the  draft  Bill  was  before  the  Cabinet  that  it  was  not 
the  Ministers  who  proposed  separate  treatment  for  Ulster 
who  had  "  taken  leave  of  their  senses,"  but  those,  including 
himself,  who  had  resisted  that  proposal,  his  wisdom  would 
have  been  more  timely  ;  but  it  was  better  late  than  never, 
and  his  unexpected  intervention  had  a  decided  influence 
on  opinion  in  the  country. 

The  comment  of  The  Times  was  very  much  to  the 
point : 

"  On  the  eve  of  a  great  political  crisis,  it  may  be  of 
national  disaster,  a  distinguished  Liberal  statesman  makes 
public  confession  of  his  belief  that,  as  a  permanent  solution, 
the  Irish  policy  of  the  Government  is  indefensible." 

This  letter  of  the  ex-Lord  Chancellor  gave  rise  to  pro- 
longed discussion  in  the  Press  and  on  the  platform.  At 
Durham,  on  the  13th  of  September,  Carson  declared  that 
he  would  welcome  a  Conference  if  the  question  was  how 
to  provide  a  genuine  expansion  of  self-government,  but  that, 
if  Ulster  was  to  be  not  only  expelled  from  the  Union  but 
placed  under  a  Parliament  in  Dublin,  then  "  they  were 
going  to  make  Home  Rule  impossible  by  steady  and 
persistent  opposition."  The  Government  seemed  unable 
to  agree  whether  a  conciliatory  or  a  defiant  attitude  was 
their  wiser  policy,  though  it  is  true  that  the  latter  recom- 
mended itself  mostly  to  the  least  prominent  of  its  members, 
such  as  Mr.  J.  M.  Robertson,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  who  in  a  speech  at  Newcastle  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember announced  scornfully  that  Ministers  were  not  going 
to  turn  "  King  Carson  "  into  "  Saint  Carson  "  by  prose- 
cuting him,  and  that  "  the  Government  would  know  how 


154       LORD  LOREBURN'S  LETTER 

to  deal  with  him."  ^  But  more  important  Ministers  were 
beginning  to  perceive  the  unwisdom  of  this  sort  of  bluster. 
Lord  Morley,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  denied  that  he  had 
ever  underrated  the  Ulster  difficulty,  and  said  that  for 
twenty-five  years  he  had  never  thought  that  Ulster  was 
guilty  of  bluff.  Mr.  Churchill,  at  Dundee,  on  the  9th  of 
October,  no  longer  talked  as  he  had  the  previous  year 
about  "  not  taking  Sir  Edward  Carson  too  seriously," 
though  he  still  appeared  to  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that 
there  was  in  Ulster  anybody  except  Orangemen.  "  The 
Orange  Leaders,"  he  said,  "  used  violent  language,  but 
Liberals  should  try  to  understand  their  position.  Their 
claim  for  special  consideration,  if  put  forward  with 
sincerity,  could  not  be  ignored  by  a  Government  depend- 
ing on  the  existing  House."  * 

The  Prime  Minister,  less  assured  than  his  subordinate 
at  the  Board  of  Trade  that  "  King  Carson  "  was  negligible, 
also  displayed  a  somewhat  chastened  spirit  at  Ladybank 
on  the  25th  of  October,  when  he  acknowledged  that  it 
was  "  of  supreme  importance  to  the  future  well-being  of 
Ireland  that  the  new  system  should  not  start  with  the 
apparent  triumph  of  one  section  over  another,"  and  he 
invited  a  "free  and  frank  exchange  of  views."  '  Sir  Edward 
Grey  held  out  another  little  twig  of  olive  two  days  later 
at  Berwick. 

To  these  overtures,  if  they  deserve  the  name,  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  replied  in  an  address  to  a  gathering  of  fifteen  thousand 
people  at  Wallsend  on  the  29th,  in  the  presence  of  Sir 
Edward  Carson.  Having  repeated  the  Blenheim  pledge, 
he  praised  the  discipline  and  restraint  shown  by  the  Ulster 
people  and  their  leaders,  but  warned  his  hearers  that  the 
nation  was  drifting  towards  the  tragedy  of  civil  war,  the 
responsibility  for  which  would  rest  on  the  Government. 
He  expressed  his  readiness  to  respond  to  Mr.  Asquith's 
invitation,  but  pointed  out  that  there  were  only  three 
alternatives  open  to  the  Government.  They  must  either 
(1)  go  on  as  they  were  doing  and  provoke  Ulster  to  resist — 
that  was  madness  ;    (2)   they  could  consult  the  electorate, 

1  Annual  Register,  1913,  p.  205. 

»  Ibid.,  p.  209.  «  Ibid.,  p.  220. 


1918]  NONCONFORMIST  OPINION  155 

whose  decision  would  be  accepted  by  the  Unionist  Party 
as  a  whole  ;  or  (3)  they  could  try  to  arrange  a  settlement 
which  would  at  least  avert  civil  war. 

There  had  been  during  the  past  six  or  eight  months  an 
unusual  dearth  of  by-elections  to  test  public  opinion  in 
regard  to  the  Irish  policy  of  the  Government,  and  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Unionist  Party  in  Great  Britain 
was  still  distracted  by  disputes  over  the  Tariff  question, 
which  in  January  1913  had  very  nearly  led  to  the  retirement 
of  Mr.  Bonar  Law  from  the  leadership.  Nevertheless,  in 
May  the  Unionists  won  two  signal  victories,  one  in  Cam- 
bridgeshire, and  one  in  Cheshire,  where  the  Altrincham 
Division  sent  a  staunch  friend  of  Ulster  to  Parliament  in 
the  person  of  Mr.  George  C.  Hamilton,  who  in  his  maiden 
speech  declared  that  he  had  won  the  contest  entirely  on 
the  Ulster  Question.  Even  more  significant,  perhaps,  were 
two  elections  which  were  fought  while  the  interchange 
of  party  strokes  over  the  Loreburn  letter  was  in  progress, 
and  the  results  of  both  were  declared  on  the  8th  of  Novem- 
ber. At  Reading,  where  the  Unionists  retained  the  seat,  the 
Liberal  candidate  was  constrained  by  pressure  of  opinion 
in  the  constituency  to  promise  support  for  a  policy  of 
"  separate  and  generous  treatment  for  Ulster."  At 
Linlithgow,  a  Liberal  stronghold,  where  no  such  promise 
was  forthcoming,  the  Liberal  majority,  in  spite  of  a  large 
Nationalist  vote,  was  reduced  by  1,500  votes  as  compared 
with  the  General  Election.  There  were  signs  that  Non- 
conformists, whose  great  leaders  like  Spurgeon  and  Dale 
had  been  hostile  to  Home  Rule  in  Gladstone's  time,  were 
again  becoming  uneasy  about  handing  over  the  Ulster 
Presbyterians  and  Methodists  to  the  Roman  hierarchy. 
A  memorial  against  Home  Rule,  signed  by  131,000  people, 
which  had  been  presented  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  June,  had  no  doubt  had  some 
effect  on  Nonconformist  opinion  in  England,  and  it  was 
just  about  the  time  when  these  elections  took  place  that 
Carson  was  described  at  a  large  gathering  of  Noncon- 
formists in  London  as  "  the  best  embodiment  at  this 
moment  of  the  ancient  spirit  of  Nonconformity."  ^ 

^  Annual  Register,  1913,  p.  225. 


156  LORD   LOREBURN'S   LETTER 

Meanwhile  the  people  in  Ulster  were  steadily  maturing 
their  plans.  The  arrangements  already  mentioned  for 
setting  up  a  Provisional  Government  were  confirmed  and 
finally  adopted  by  the  Unionist  Council  in  Belfast  on  the 
24th  of  September,  and  the  Council  by  resolution  delegated 
its  powers  to  the  Standing  Committee,  while  the  Com- 
mission of  Five  was  at  the  same  time  appointed  to  act 
as  an  Executive.  Carson,  in  accepting  the  chairmanship 
of  the  Central  Authority,  used  the  striking  phrase,  which 
precisely  epitomised  the  situation,  that  "  Ulster  might  be 
coerced  into  submission,  but  in  that  case  would  have  to 
be  governed  as  a  conquered  country."  The  Nationalist 
retort  that  the  rest  of  Ireland  was  now  being  so  treated, 
appeared  forcible  to  those  Englishmen  only  who  could 
see  no  difference  between  controlling  a  disaffected  popu- 
lation and  chastising  a  loyal  one. 

At  the  same  meeting  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  on 
the  24th  of  September  a  guarantee  fund  was  established 
for  providing  means  to  compensate  members  of  the  U.V.F. 
for  any  loss  or  disability  they  might  suffer  as  a  result  of 
their  service,  and  the  widows  and  dependents  of  any 
who  might  lose  their  lives.  This  v/as  a  matter  that  had 
caused  Carson  anxiety  for  some  time.  He  was  extremely 
sensitive  to  the  moral  responsibility  he  would  incur 
towards  those  who  so  eagerly  followed  his  lead,  in  the 
event  of  their  suffering  loss  of  life  or  limb  in  the  service 
of  Ulster.  His  proposal  that  a  guarantee  fund  of  a  million 
sterling  should  be  started,  met  with  a  ready  response  from 
the  Council,  and  from  the  wealthier  classes  in  and  about 
Belfast.  The  form  of  "  Indemnity  Guarantee  "  provided 
for  the  payment  to  those  entitled  to  benefit  under  it  of 
sums  not  less  than  they  would  have  been  entitled  to  under 
the  Fatal  Accidents  Act,  the  Employers'  Liability  Act, 
and  the  Workman's  Compensation  Act,  as  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  might  be.  The  list  was  headed  by 
Sir  Edward  Carson,  Lord  Londonderry,  Captain  Craig, 
Sir  John  Lonsdale,  Sir  George  Clark,  and  Lord  Dunleath, 
with  a  subscription  of  £10,000  each,  and  their  example 
was  followed  by  Mr.  Kerr  Smiley,  M.P.,  Mr.  R.  M.  Liddell, 
Mr.  George  Preston,  Mr.  Henry  Musgrave,  Mr.  C.  E.  Allen, 


1918]       INDEMNITY   FUND   FOR   CASUALTIES  157 

and  Mr.  Frank  Workman,  who  entered  their  names 
severally  for  the  same  amount.  A  quarter  of  a  million 
sterling  was  guaranteed  in  the  room  before  the  Council 
separated  ;  by  the  end  of  a  week  it  had  grown  to  £387,000  ; 
and  before  the  1st  of  January,  1914,  the  total  amount  of 
the  Indemnity  Guarantee  Fund  was  £1,043,816. 

It  gave  Carson  and  the  other  leaders  the  greatest  possible 
satisfaction  that  the  response  to  this  appeal  was  so  prompt 
and  adequate.  Not  only  was  their  anxiety  relieved  in 
regard  to  their  responsibility  to  loyal  followers  of  the 
rank  and  file  who  might  become  "  casualties  "  in  the 
movement,  but  they  had  been  given  a  striking  proof  that 
the  business  community  of  Belfast  did  not  consider  its 
pocket  more  sacred  than  its  principles.  Moreover,  if  there 
had  been  doubt  on  that  score  in  anyone's  mind,  it  was  set  at 
rest  by  a  memorable  meeting  for  business  men  only  held 
in  Belfast  on  the  3rd  of  November.  Between  three  and 
four  thousand  leaders  of  industry  and  commerce,  the 
majority  of  whom  had  never  hitherto  taken  any  active 
share  in  political  affairs,  presided  over  by  Mr.  G.  H.  Ewart, 
President  of  the  Belfast  Chamber  of  Commerce,  gave  an 
enthusiastic  reception  to  Carson,  who  told  them  that 
he  had  come  more  to  consult  them  as  to  the  commercial 
aspects  of  the  great  political  controversy  than  to  impress 
his  own  views  on  the  gathering.  It  was  said  that  the 
men  in  the  hall  represented  a  capital  of  not  less  than 
£145,000,000  sterling,^  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
even  if  that  were  an  exaggerated  estimate,  they  were  not 
of  a  class  to  whom  revolution,  rebellion,  or  political 
upheaval  could  offer  an  attractive  prospect.  Neverthe- 
less, the  meeting  passed  with  complete  unanimity  a 
resolution  expressing  confidence  in  Carson  and  approval 
of  everything  he  had  done,  including  the  formation  of  the 
Ulster  Volunteer  Force,  and  declaring  that  they  would 
refuse  to  pay  "  all  taxes  which  they  could  control  "  to  an 
Irish  Parliament  in  Dublin.  This  meeting  was  very 
satisfactory,  for  it  proved  that  the  "  captains  of  industry  " 
were  entirely  in  accord  with  the  working  classes,  whose 
support  of  the  movement  had  never  been  in  doubt.     It 

^  Annual  Register,  1913,  p.  225, 


158  LORD   LOREBURN'S   LETTER 

showed  that  Ulster  was  sohd  behind  Carson  ;  and  the 
unanimity  was  emphasised  rather  than  disturbed  by  a 
little  handful  of  cranks,  calling  themselves  "  Protestant 
Home  Rulers,"  who  met  on  the  24th  of  October  at  the 
village  of  Ballymoney  "  to  protest  against  the  lawless 
policy  of  Carsonism."  The  principal  stickler  for  propriety 
of  conduct  in  public  life  on  this  occasion  was  Sir  Roger 
Casement. 

While  the  unity  and  steadfastness — which  enemies 
called  obstinacy — of  the  Ulster  people  were  being  thus 
made  manifest,  the  public  in  England  were  hearing  a  good 
deal  about  the  growth  of  the  Ulster  Volunteer  Force  in 
numbers  and  efficiency.  As  will  be  seen  later,  the  anni- 
versary of  the  Covenant  was  celebrated  with  great  military 
display  at  the  very  time  when  the  newspapers  across  the 
Channel  were  busy  discussing  Lord  Loreburn's  letter,  and 
at  a  parade  service  in  the  Ulster  Hall,  Canon  Harding, 
after  pronouncing  the  Benediction,  called  on  the  congre- 
gation to  raise  their  right  hands  and  pledge  themselves 
thereby  "  to  follow  wherever  Sir  Edward  Carson  shall 
lead  us." 

The  events  of  September  1913 — the  setting  up  of  the 
Provisional  Government,  the  wonderful  and  instantaneous  ^ 
response  to  the  appeal  for  an  Indemnity  Guarantee  Fund,  1 
the  rapid  formation  of  an  effective  volunteer  army — were 
given  the  fullest  publicity  in  the  English  Press.  Every 
newspaper  of  importance  had  its  special  correspondent  in 
Belfast,  whose  telegrams  filled  columns  every  day, 
adorned  with  all  the  varieties  of  sensational  headline  type. 
The  Radicals  were  becoming  restive.  The  idea  that 
Carson  was  "  not  to  be  taken  too  seriously,"  had  apparently 
missed  fire.  It  was  the  Ministerial  affectation  of  contempt 
that  no  one  was  taking  seriously  ;  in  fact,  to  borrow  an 
expression  from  current  slang,  the  "  King  Carson  "  stunt 
was  a  "wash-out." 

The  Nation  suggested  that,  instead  of  being  laughed  at, 
the  Ulster  leader  should  be  prosecuted,  or,  at  any  rate, 
removed  from  the  Privy  Council,  and  other  Liberal  papers 
feverishly  took  up  the  suggestion,  debating  whether  the 
indictment  shouldbe  under  the  Treason  Felony  Act  of 


1913]      PROPOSED   PROSECUTION   OF   CARSON        159 

1848,  the  Crimes  Act  of  1887,  or  the  Unlawful  Drilling  Act 
of  1819.  One  of  them,  however,  which  succeeded  in 
keeping  its  head,  did  not  believe  that  a  prosecution  would 
succeed  ;  and,  as  to  the  Privy  Council,  if  Carson's  name 
were  removed,  what  about  Londonderry  and  F.  E.  Smith, 
Walter  Long,  and  Bonar  Law  ?  In  fact,  "  it  would  be 
difficult  to  know  where  to  stop."  ^  It  would  have  been. 
The  Privy  Council  would  have  had  to  be  reduced  to  a 
committee  of  Radical  politicians  ;  and,  if  Carson  had  been 
prosecuted,  room  would  have  had  to  be  found  in  the 
dock,  not  only  for  the  whole  Unionist  Party,  but  for  the 
proprietors  and  editors  of  most  of  the  leading  journals. 
The  Government  stopped  short  of  that  supreme  folly ; 
but  their  impotence  was  the  measure  of  the  prevailing 
sympathy  with  Ulster. 

1  Liverpool  Daily  Post  and  Mercury,  September  22nd,  1913. 


CHAPTER    XV 

PREPARATIONS    AND    PROPOSALS 

We  have  seen  in  a  former  chapter  how  the  Ulster  Volunteer 
Force  originated.  It  was  never  formally  established  by 
the  act  of  any  recognised  authority,  but  rather  grew 
spontaneously  from  the  zeal  of  the  Unionist  Clubs  and 
the  Orange  Lodges  to  present  an  effective  and  formidable 
appearance  at  the  demonstrations  which  marked  the 
progress  of  the  movement  after  the  meeting  at  Craigavon 
in  1911.  By  the  following  summer  it  had  attained  con- 
siderable numbers  and  respectable  cfRciency,  and  was 
becoming  organised,  without  violation  of  the  law,  on  a 
territorial  basis  under  local  officers,  many  of  whom  had 
served  in  the  Army.  Early  in  1913  the  Standing  Committee 
resolved  that  these  units  should  be  combined  into  a 
single  force,  to  be  called  The  Ulster  Volunteer  Force,  which 
was  to  be  raised  and  limited  to  a  strength  of  100,000  men, 
all  of  whom  should  be  men  who  had  signed  the  Covenant. 
When  this  organisation  took  place  it  became  obvious 
that  a  serious  defect  was  the  want  of  a  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  whole  force,  to  give  it  unity  and  cohesion. 
This  defect  was  pressed  on  the  attention  of  the  leaders  of 
the  movement,  who  then  began  to  look  about  for  a  suitable 
officer  of  rank  and  military  experience  to  take  command 
of  the  U.V.F.  Among  English  Members  of  the  House 
of  Commons  there  was  no  firmer  friend  of  Ulster  than 
Colonel  Thomas  Hickman,  C.B.,  D.S.O.,  who  has  been 
mentioned  as  one  of  those  who  consented  to  serve  in  the 
Provisional  Government.  Hickman  had  seen  a  lot  of 
active  service,  having  served  with  great  distinction  in 
Egypt  and  the  Soudan  under  Kitchener,  and  in  the  South 
African  War.  It  was  natural  to  take  him  into  confidence 
in  the  search  for  a  general ;   and,  when  he  was  approached, 

160 


1913]         LORD   ROBERTS  AND   THE   U.V.F.  161 

it  was  decided  that  he  should  consult  Lord  Roberts,  whose 
warm  sympathy  with  the  Ulster  cause  was  well  known  to 
the  leaders  of  the  movement,  and  whose  knowledge  of 
army  officers  of  high  rank  was,  of  course,  unequalled. 
Moreover,  the  illustrious  Field-lMarshal  had  dropped  hints 
which  led  those  concerned  to  conjecture  that  in  the  last 
resort  he  might  not  himself  be  unwilling  to  lend  his  match- 
less prestige  and  genius  to  the  loyalist  cause  in  Ireland. 
The  contingency  which  might  bring  about  such  an  acces- 
sion had  not,  however,  yet  arisen,  and  might  never  arise  ; 
in  the  meantime,  Lord  Roberts  gave  a  ready  ear  to  Hick- 
man's application,  which,  after  some  weeks  of  delay,  he 
answered  in  the  following  letter,  which  was  at  once  com- 
municated to  Carson  and  those  in  his  immediate  confidence : 

"  Englemere,  Ascot,  Berks. 
"4fft  June,   1913. 

"  Dear  Hickman, 

"  I  have  been  a  long  time  finding  a  Senior  Officer 
to  help  in  the  Ulster  business,  but  I  think  I  have  got  one 
now.  His  name  is  Lieut.-General  Sir  George  Richardson, 
K.C.B.,  c/o  Messrs.  Henry  S.  King  &  Co.,  Pall  Mall,  S.W. 
He  is  a  retired  Indian  officer,  active  and  in  good  health. 
He  is  not  an  Irishman,  but  has  settled  in  Ireland.  .  .  . 
Richardson  will  be  in  London  for  about  a  month,  and  is 
ready  to  meet  you  at  any  time. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  read  about  the  capture  of  rifles. 
"  Believe  me, 

"  Yours  sincerely, 

"  Roberts." 

The  matter  was  quickly  arranged,  and  within  a  few  weeks 
Sir  George  Richardson  had  taken  up  his  residence  in 
Belfast,  and  his  duties  as  G.O.C.  the  Ulster  Volunteer 
Force. 

He  was  a  distinguished  soldier.  He  served  under 
Roberts  in  the  Afghan  Campaign  of  1879-80  ;  he  took 
part  in  the  Waziri  Expedition  of  1881,  and  the  Zhob 
Valley  Field  Force  operations  of  1890.  He  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  Flying  Column  in  the  Tirah  Expedition  of 
1897-8,  and  of  a  Cavalry  Brigade  in  the  China  Expedi- 
tionary Force  in  1900,  and   had   commanded    a  Division 


162  PREPARATIONS  AND   PROPOSALS 

at  Poona  for  three  years  before  retiring  in  1907.  He  had 
been  three  times  mentioned  in  despatches,  besides  receiving 
a  brevet  and  many  medals  and  clasps.  He  was  at  this 
time  sixty-six  years  of  age,  but,  like  the  great  soldier  who 
recommended  him  to  Ulster,  he  was  an  active  little  man 
both  in  body  and  mind,  with  no  symptom  of  approaching 
old  age. 

General  Richardson  was  not  long  in  making  himself 
popular,  not  only  with  the  force  under  his  command,  but 
with  all  classes  in  Ulster.  There  were  unavoidable  diffi- 
culties in  handling  troops  whose  officers  had  no  statutory 
powers  of  discipline,  who  had  inherited  no  military 
traditions,  and  who  formed  part  of  a  population  conspicu- 
ously independent  in  character.  But  Sir  George  Richard- 
son was  as  full  of  tact  as  of  good  humour,  and  he  soon 
found  that  the  keenness  of  the  officers  and  men,  to  whom 
dismissal  from  the  U.V.F.  would  have  been  the  severest 
of  punishments,  more  than  counterbalanced  the  difficulties 
referred  to. 

When  the  new  G.O.C.  went  to  Belfast  in  July,  1913, 
he  found  his  command  between  fifty  and  sixty  thousand 
strong,  with  recruits  joining  every  day.  In  September  a 
number  of  parades  were  held  in  different  localities,  at 
which  the  General  was  accompanied  by  Sir  Edward 
Carson,  Mr.  F.  E.  Smith,  Captain  James  Craig,  and  other 
Members  of  Parliament.  The  local  battalions  were  in 
many  cases  commanded  by  retired  or  half-pay  officers  of 
the  regular  army.  At  all  these  inspections  Carson 
addressed  the  men,  many  of  whom  were  now  seeing  their 
Commander-in-Chief  for  the  first  time,  and  pointed  out 
that  the  U.V.F. ,  being  now  under  a  single  command,  was 
no  longer  a  mere  collection  of  unrelated  units,  but  an 
army.  At  an  inspection  at  Antrim  on  the  21st  of  Sep- 
tember, he  made  a  disclosure  which  startled  the  country 
not  a  little  next  day  when  it  appeared  in  the  headlines  of 
English  newspapers.  "  I  tell  the  Government,"  he  said, 
"  that  we  have  pledges  and  promises  from  some  of  the 
greatest  generals  in  the  army,  who  have  given  their  word 
that,  when  the  time  comes,  if  it  is  necessary,  they  will 
come  over  and  help  us  to  keep  the  old  flag  flying."     These 


1918]  REVIEWS   OF  THE   VOLUNTEERS  163 

promises  were  entirely  spontaneous  and  unsolicited.  More 
than  one  of  those  who  made  them  did  fine  service  to  the 
Empire  in  the  impending  time  of  trial  which  none  of  them 
foresaw  in  1913. 

Of  the  men  inspected  on  that  day,  numbering  about 
5,000,  it  was  said  by  the  Special  Correspondent  of  The 
Yorkshire  Post,  who  was  present — 

"  As  far  as  I  could  detect  in  a  very  careful  observation, 
there  were  not  half  a  dozen  of  them  unqualified  by  physique 
or  age  to  play  a  manly  part.  They  reminded  me  more 
than  anything  else — except  that  but  few  of  them  were 
beyond  the  best  fighting  age — of  the  finest  class  of  our 
National  Reserve.  There  was  certainly  nothing  of  the 
mock  soldier  about  them.  Led  by  keen,  smart-looking 
officers,  they  marched  past  in  quarter  column  with  fine, 
swinging  steps,  as  if  they  had  been  in  training  for  years. 
Officers  who  have  had  the  teaching  of  them  tell  me  that 
the  rapidity  with  which  they  have  become  efficient  is 
greater  than  has  ever  come  within  their  experience  in 
training  recruits  for  either  the  Territorials  or  the  Regular 
Service."  ^ 

The  24th  of  September,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the 
day  when  the  formation  of  the  Provisional  Government 
and  the  Indemnity  Fund  (with  the  subscription  of  a  quarter 
of  a  million  sterling  in  two  hours)  was  made  public  ;  on 
Saturday  the  27th,  the  country  parades  of  Volunteers  of 
the  preceding  weeks  reached  a  climax  in  a  grand  review  in 
Belfast  itself,  when  some  15,000  men  were  drawn  up  on  the 
same  ground  where  the  Balmoral  meeting  had  been  held 
eighteen  months  before.  They  were  reviewed  by  Sir 
George  Richardson,  G.O.C.,  and  it  was  on  this  occasion 
that  Mr.  F.  E.  Smith  became  famous  as  "  galloper  "  to  the 
General.  The  Commanders  of  the  four  regiments  on 
parade — one  from  each  parliamentary  division  of  the  city 
— comprising  fourteen  battalions,  were :  Colonel  Wallace, 
Major  F.  H.  Crawford,  Major  McCalmont,  M.P.,  and 
Captain  the  Hon.  A.  C.  Chichester.  More  than  30,000 
sympathetic  spectators  watched  the  arrival  and  the 
review  of  the  troops. 

1  The  Yorkshire  Post,  September  22nd,  1913. 


164  PREPARATIONS   AND   PROPOSALS 

Among  these  spectators  were  a  large  number  of  special 
military  correspondents  of  English  newspapers,  whose 
impressions  of  this  memorable  event  were  studied  in  every 
part  of  the  United  Kingdom  on  the  following  Monday 
morning.  That  which  appeared  in  a  great  Lancashire 
journal  may  be  quoted  as  a  fair  and  dispassionate  account 
of  the  scene : 

"  It  is  quite  certain  that  the  review  of  Volunteers  at 
Balmoral  to-day  will  go  down  into  history  as  one\)f  Lhfe 
most  extraordinary  events  in  the  annals  of  these  islands. 
Not  since  the  marshalling  of  Cromwell's  Puritan  army  have 
we  had  anything  approaching  a  parallel  ;  but,  whereas  the 
Puritans  took  up  arms  against  a  king  of  whom  they  dis- 
approved, the  men  of  Ulster  strongly  protest  their  loyalty 
to  the  British  Throne.  The  great  crowd  which  lined  the 
enclosure  was  eager,  earnest,  and  sympathetic.  It  was  not 
a  boisterous  crowd.  On  the  contrary,  beyond  the  demon- 
stration following  the  call  for  cheers  for  the  Union  there 
was  comparatively  little  cheering.  The  crowd  seemed 
burdened  with  a  heavy  sense  of  the  importance  of  the 
occasion.  The  conduct  of  the  gathering  was  serious  to 
the  point  of  positive  solemnity. 

"  The  Volunteers  from  their  own  ranks  policed  the 
grounds,  not  a  solitary  member  of  the  Royal  Irish  Con- 
stabulary being  seen  in  the  enclosure.  The  sun  shone 
brilliantly  as  Colonel  Wallace  led  the  men  of  the  North 
division  into  the  enclosure.  Amidst  subdued  cheers  he 
marched  them  across  the  field  in  fours,  forming  up  in 
quarter  column  by  the  right,  facing  left.  For  an  hour  and 
a  quarter  the  procession  filed  through  the  gates,  the  men 
taking  up  their  positions  with  perfect  movement  and  not 
the  faintest  suggestion  of  confusion.  As  the  men  from  the 
West  took  up  their  position  the  crowd  broke  into  a  great 
cheer.  They  mustered  only  two  battalions,  but  they  had 
come  from  Mr.  Devlin's  constituency  ! 

"As  a  body  the  men  were  magnificent.  The  hardy 
sons  of  toil  from  shipyards  and  factories  marched  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  clergy  and  doctors,  professional  men  and 
clerks.  From  the  saluting  base  General  Richardson  took 
command,  and  almost  immediately  Sir  Edward  Carson 
took  up  his  position  on  the  platform,  with  Lord  London- 
derry and   Captain  Craig  in  attendance.     Then  followed 


1918]  GREAT   PARADE   OF   IRONSIDES  163 

a  scene  that  will  live  long  in  the  memories  of  that  vast 
concourse  of  people.  With  the  men  standing  to  '  Atten- 
tion,' the  bands  struck  up  the  '  British  Grenadiers,'  and 
the  whole  division  advanced  in  review  order,  in  perfect 
lines  and  unison. 

"  The  supreme  moment  had  arrived.  The  men  took  off 
their  hats,  and  the  G.O.C.  shouted,  '  I  call  upon  the  men 
to  give  three  cheers  for  the  Union,  taking  their  time  from 
me.     Hip,  hip ' 

"  Well,  people  who  were  not  there  must  imagine  the  rest. 
Out  of  the  deafening  cheers  came  the  strains  of  '  Rule, 
Britannia  ! '  from  the  bands  ;  the  monster  Union  Jack  was 
unfurled  in  the  centre  of  the  ground,  and  the  mighty 
gathering  stood  bare-headed  to  '  God  save  the  King.'  It 
was  solemn,  impressive,  thrilling."  ^ 

The  following  day,  Sunday,  was  "  Ulster  Day,"  the  first 
anniversary  of  the  signing  of  the  Covenant,  and  it  was 
celebrated  in  Belfast  and  many  other  places  in  Ulster  by 
holding  special  services  in  all  places  of  worship,  which  had 
the  effect  of  sustaining  that  spirit  of  high  seriousness  which 
struck  all  observers  as  remarkable  in  the  behaviour  of  the 
people. 

This  week,  in  which  occurred  the  proclamation  of  the 
Provisional  Government,  the  great  review  of  the  Belfast 
Volunteers,  and  the  second  celebration  of  Ulster  Day,  was 
a  notable  landmark  in  the  movement.  The  Press  in 
England  and  Scotland  gave  the  widest  publicity  to  every 
picturesque  and  impressive  detail,  and  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  idea  of  attempting  to  arrive  at  some  agreed 
settlement,  started  by  Lord  Loreburn's  letter  to  The  Times, 
was  greatly  stimulated  by  these  fresh  and  convincing 
proofs  of  the  grim  determination  of  the  Ulster  people. 

At  all  events,  the  autumn  produced  more  than  the  usual 
plethora  of  political  meetings  addressed  by  "  front  bench  " 
politicians  on  both  sides,  each  answering  each  like  an 
antiphonal  choir  ;  scraps  of  olive-branch  were  timidly  held 
out,  only  to  be  snatched  back  next  day  in  panic  lest 
someone  had  blundered  in  saying  too  much  ;  while  day 
by  day  a  clamorous  Liberal  Press,  to  whom  Ulster's  loyalty 

*  The  Liverpool  Daily  Courier,  September  29th,  1913. 


166  PREPARATIONS  AND   PROPOSALS 

to  King  and  Empire  was  an  unforgivable  offence,  alter- 
nated between  execration  of  Ulster  wickedness  and  affected 
ridicule  of  Ulster  bluff.  But  it  was  evident  that  genuine 
misgiving  was  beginning  to  be  felt  in  responsible  Liberal 
quarters.  A  Correspondent  of  The  Manchester  Guardian 
on  the  25th  of  November  made  a  proposal  for  special 
treatment  of  Ulster  ;  on  the  1st  of  December  Mr.  Mas- 
singham,  in  The  Daily  News,  urged  that  an  effort  should 
be  made  to  conciliate  the  northern  Protestants  ;  and  on 
the  6th  Mr.  Asquith  displayed  a  more  conciliatory  spirit 
than  usual  in  a  speech  at  Manchester.  A  most  active 
campaign  of  propaganda  in  England  and  Scotland  was  also 
carried  on  during  the  autumn  by  Ulster  speakers,  among 
whom  women  bore  their  full  share.  The  Ulster  Women's 
Unionist  Association  employed  93  voluntary  workers, 
who  visited  over  90  constituencies  in  Great  Britain, 
addressing  230  important  meetings.  It  was  reckoned  that 
not  less  than  100,000  electors  heard  the  Ulster  case  from 
the  lips  of  earnest  Ulster  women. 

On  the  5th  of  December  two  Royal  Proclamations  were 
issued  by  the  Government,  prohibiting  the  importation  of 
arms  and  ammunition  into  Ireland.  But  during  the 
Christmas  holidays  the  impression  gained  ground  that  the 
Government  contemplated  making  concessions  to  Ulster, 
and  communications  in  private  between  the  Prime  Min- 
ister and  Sir  Edward  Carson  did  in  fact  take  place  at  this 
time.  The  truth,  however,  was  that  the  Government 
were  not  their  own  masters,  and,  as  Mr.  Bonar  Law  bluntly 
declared  at  Bristol  on  the  15th  of  January,  1914,  they  were 
compelled  by  the  Nationalists,  on  whom  they  depended 
for  existence,  to  refuse  any  genuine  concession.  In  the 
same  speech  Mr.  Bonar  Law  replied  to  the  allegation  that 
Ulster  was  crying  out  before  she  was  hurt,  by  saying 
that  the  American  colonies  had  done  the  same  thing — 
they  had  revolted  on  a  question  of  principle  while  suffering 
was  still  distant,  and  for  a  cause  that  in  itself  was  trivial 
in  comparison  with  that  of  Ulster.^ 

Most  of  the  leaders  on  both  sides  were  speaking  on 
various  platforms  in  January.     On  the  17th  Carson,  at 

1  Annual  Register,  1914,  p.  6. 


1914]      MR.  JOSEPH  CHAMBERLAIN'S  ADVICE         167 

an  inspection  of  the  East  Belfast  U.V.F.,  said  he  had 
lately  visited  Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  and  that  the 
dying  statesman,  clear-sighted  and  valiant  as  ever,  had 
said  to  him  at  parting,  "  I  would  fight  it  out."  In  the 
same  spirit  Mr.  Austen  Chamberlain,  in  a  speech  at  Skipton 
a  fortnight  later,  ridiculed  any  concession  that  fell  short 
of  the  exclusion  of  Ulster  from  the  Irish  Parliament,  and 
asserted  that  what  the  policy  of  the  Government  amounted 
to  was  that  England  was  to  conquer  a  province  and  hold 
it  down  at  the  expense  of  her  friends  for  the  benefit  of  her 
enemies.^ 

Public  attention  was,  however,  not  allowed  to  concen- 
trate wholly  on  Ireland.  The  Radicals,  instigated  by  Sir 
John  Brunner,  President  of  the  National  Liberal  Federa- 
tion, were  doing  their  best  to  prevent  the  strengthening  of 
the  Navy,  the  time  being  opportune  for  parsimon3'"  in  Mr. 
Lloyd  George's  opinion  because  our  relations  with  Germany 
were  "  far  more  friendly  than  for  years  past."  *  The  mili- 
tant women  suffragists  were  carrying  on  a  lively  campaign 
of  arson  and  assault  all  over  the  country.  Labour  unrest 
was  in  a  condition  of  ferment.  Land  agitation  was  exciting 
the  "  single- taxers  "  and  other  fanatics  ;  and  the  Tariff 
question  had  not  ceased  to  be  a  cause  of  division  in  the 
Unionist  Party.  But,  while  these  matters  were  sharing 
with  the  Irish  problem  the  attention  of  the  Press  and  the 
public,  "  conversations  "  were  being  held  behind  the 
scenes  with  a  view  to  averting  what  everyone  now  agreed 
would  be  a  dangerous  crisis  if  Ulster  proved  implacable. 

When  Parliament  met  on  the  10th  of  February,  1914, 
Mr.  Asquith  referred  to  these  conversations  ;  but  while  he 
congratulated  everyone  concerned  on  the  fact  that  the 
Press  had  been  successfully  kept  in  the  dark  for  months 
regarding  them,  he  had  to  admit  that  they  had  produced 
no  result.  But  there  were,  he  said,  "  schemes  and  sugges- 
tions of  settlement  in  the  air,"  among  them  the  exclusion 
of  Ulster  from  the  Bill,  a  proposal  on  which  he  would  not 
at  that  moment  "  pronounce,  or  attempt  to  pronounce, 
any  final  judgment  "  ,  and  he  then  announced  that,  as 
soon  as  the  financial  business  of  the  3^ear  was  disposed  of, 

1  Anntuil  Register,  1914,  p.  12.  *  Ibid.,  p.  1. 

12 


168  PREPARATIONS   AND   PROPOSALS 

he  would  bring  forward  proposals  for  the  purpose  of  arriving 
at  an  agreement  "which  will  consult  not  only  the  interests 
but  the  susceptibilities  of  all  concerned." 

This  appeared  to  be  a  notable  change  of  attitude  on  the 
part  of  the  Government ;  but  it  was  received  with  not  a 
little  suspicion  by  the  Unionist  leaders.  Whether  or  not 
the  change  was  due,  as  ]\Ir.  William  Moore  bluntly  asserted, 
to  the  formation  of  the  Ulster  Volunteer  Force,  which  had 
now  reached  its  full  strength  of  100,000  men,  the  question 
of  interest  was  whether  the  promised  proposals  would 
render  that  force  unnecessary.  Mr.  Austen  Chamberlain 
asked  why  the  Government's  proposals  should  be  kept 
bottled  up  until  a  date  suspiciously  near  All  Fools'  Day  ; 
and  Sir  Edward  Carson,  in  one  of  the  most  impressive 
speeches  he  ever  made  in  Parliament,  which  wrung  from 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  the  acknowledgment  that  it  had  "  en- 
tranced the  House,"  joined  Chamberlain  in  demanding  that 
the  country  should  not  be  kept  in  anxious  suspense.  The 
only  proper  way  of  making  the  proposals  known  was,  he 
said,  by  embodying  them  at  once  in  a  Bill  to  amend  the 
Home  Rule  Bill.  He  confirmed  Chamberlain's  statement 
that  nothing  short  of  the  exclusion  of  Ulster  would  be  of 
the  slightest  use.  The  Covenanters  were  not  men  who 
would  have  acted  as  they  had  done  for  the  sake  of  minor 
details  that  could  be  adjusted  by  "  paper  safeguards," 
they  were  "  fighting  for  a  great  principle  and  a  great 
ideal,"  and  if  their  determination  to  resist  was  not  morally 
justified  he  "  did  not  see  how  resistance  could  ever  be 
justified  in  history  at  all."  But  if  the  exclusion  of  Ulster 
was  to  be  offered,  he  would  immediately  go  to  Belfast 
and  lay  the  proposal  before  his  followers.  He  did  not 
intend  "  that  Ulster  should  be  a  pawn  in  any  political 
game,"  and  would  not  allow  himself  to  be  manoeuvred 
into  a  position  where  it  could  afterwards  be  said  that 
Ulster  had  resorted  to  arms  to  secure  something  that  had 
been  rejected  when  offered  by  legislation.  The  sympathy 
of  Ulstermen  with  Loyalists  in  other  parts  of  Ireland  was 
as  deep  and  sincere  as  ever,  but  no  one  had  ever  supposed 
that  Ulster  could  by  force  of  arms  do  more  than  preserve 
her  own  territory  from  subjection  to  Dublin.     As  for  the 


1914]  MR.   ASQUITH'S  NEW   ATTITUDE  169 

Nationalists,  they  would  never  succeed  in  coercing  Ulster, 
but  "  by  showing  that  good  government  can  come  under 
Home  Rule  they  might  try  and  win  her  over  to  the  case 
of  the  rest  of  Ireland."  That  was  a  plan  that  had  never 
yet  been  tried. 

The  significance  of  the  announcement  which  Mr.  Asquith 
had  now  made  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  was  an  acknowledg- 
ment by  the  Government  for  the  first  time  that  there  was 
an  "  Ulster  Question  "  to  be  dealt  with — that  Ulster  was 
not,  as  had  hitherto  been  the  Liberal  theory,  like  any 
other  minority  who  must  submit  to  the  will  of  the  majority 
opposed  to  it,  but  a  distinct  community,  conditioned  by 
special  circumstances  entitling  it  to  special  treatment. 
The  Prime  Minister  had  thus,  as  Mr.  Bonar  Law  insisted, 
"  destroyed  utterlj'-  the  whole  foundation  on  which  for  the 
last  two  years  the  treatment  extended  to  Ulster  in  this 
Bill  has  been  justified."  From  that  day  it  became  im- 
possible ever  again  to  contend  that  Ulster  was  merely  a 
recalcitrant  minority  in  a  larger  unity,  without  rights  of 
her  own. 

The  speeches  of  the  Unionist  leaders  in  the  House  of 
Commons  showed  clearly  enough  how  little  faith  they  had 
that  the  Government  intended  to  do  anything  that  could 
lead  to  an  agreed  settlement.  The  interval  that  passed 
before  the  nature  of  the  Government's  proposals  was 
made  known  increased  rather  than  diminished  this  dis- 
trust. The  air  was  full  of  suggestions,  the  most  notable 
of  which  was  put  forward  by  the  veteran  constitutional 
lawyer,  Mr.  Frederic  Harrison,  who  proposed  that  Ulster 
should  be  governed  by  a  separate  committee  elected  by 
its  own  constituencies,  with  full  legislative,  administrative, 
and  financial  powers,  subject  only  to  the  Crown  and  the 
Imperial  Parliament.^  Unionists  did  not  believe  that  the 
Liberal  Cabinet  would  be  allowed  by  their  Nationalist 
masters  to  offer  anything  so  liberal  to  Ulster  ;  nor  did 
that  Province  desire  autonomy  for  itself.  They  believed 
that  the  chief  desire  of  the  Government  was  not  to  appease 
Ulster,  but  to  put  her  in  a  tactically  indefensible  position. 
This  fear  had  been  expressed  by  Lord  Lansdowne  as  long 

1  Tht  Annual  Register,  1914,  p.  33. 


170  PREPARATIONS  AND   PROPOSALS 

before  as  the  previous  October,  when  he  wrote  privately 
to  Carson  in  reference  to  Lord  Loreburn's  suggested  Con- 
ference that  he  suspected  the  intention  of  the  Government 
to  be  "  to  offer  us  terms  which  they  know  we  cannot  accept, 
and  then  throw  on  us  the  odium  of  having  obstructed  a 
settlement."  Mr.  Walter  Long  had  the  same  apprehen- 
sion in  March  1914  as  to  the  purpose  of  Mr.  Asquith's 
unknown  proposals.  Both  these  leaders  herein  showed 
insight  and  prescience,  for  not  only  Mr.  Asquith's  Govern- 
ment, but  also  that  which  succeeded  it,  had  resort  on  many 
subsequent  occasions  to  the  manoeuvre  suspected  by  Lord 
Lansdowne. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  encouraging  signs  in  the 
country.  To  the  intense  satisfaction  of  Unionists,  Mr. 
C.  F.  G.  Masterman,  who  had  just  been  promoted  to  the 
Cabinet,  lost  his  seat  in  East  London  when  he  sought  re- 
election in  February,  and  a  day  or  two  later  the  Govern- 
ment suffered  another  defeat  in  Scotland.  On  the  27th  of 
February  Lord  Milner,  a  fearless  supporter  of  the  Ulster 
cause,  wrote  to  Carson  that  a  British  Covenant  had  been 
drawn  up  in  support  of  the  Ulster  Covenanters,  and  that 
the  first  signatures,  in  addition  to  his  own,  were  those  of 
Field-Marshal  Lord  Roberts,  Admiral  of  the  Fleet  Sir 
E.  Seymour,  the  Duke  of  Portland,  Lord  Balfour  of 
Burleigh,  Lord  Desborough,  Lord  Lovat,  Mr.  Rudyard 
Kipling,  Sir  W.  Ramsay,  F.R.S.,  the  Dean  of  Canterbury, 
Professors  Dicey  and  Goudy,  Sir  George  Hayter  Chubb, 
and  Mr.  Salvidge,  the  influential  alderman  of  Liverpool. 
On  the  6th  of  March  Mr.  Walter  Long,  writing  from  the 
office  of  the  Union  Defence  League,  of  which  he  was  Presi- 
dent, was  able  to  inform  Carson  that  there  was  "  a  rush  to 
sign  the  Covenant — we  are  really  almost  overpowered." 
This  was  supplemented  by  a  women's  Covenant,  which,  like 
the  men's,  "  had  been  numerously  and  influentially  signed, 
about  3  or  4  per  cent,  of  the  signatories,  it  was  said,  being 
Liberals."  ^  Long  believed  from  this  and  other  evidence 
that  had  reached  him  that  "  public  opinion  was  now  really 
aroused  in  the  country,"  and  that  the  steadfast  policy  of 
Ulster  had  the  undoubted  support  of  the  electorate. 

^  Annual  Register,  1914,  pp.  51-2. 


1914]  A   BRITISH   COVENANT  171 

Only  those  who  were  in  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Asquith 
and  his  colleagues  at  the  beginning  of  1914  can  know 
whether  the  "  proposals  "  they  then  made  were  ever 
seriously  put  forward  as  an  effort  towards  appeasennent. 
If  they  were  sincerely  meant  for  such,  it  implied  a  degree 
of  ignorance  of  the  chief  factor  in  the  problem  with  which 
it  is  difficult  to  credit  able  Ministers  who  had  been  face  to 
face  with  that  problem  for  years.  They  must  have  sup- 
posed that  their  leading  opponents  were  capable  of  saying 
emphatically  one  thing  and  meaning  quite  another.  For 
the  Unionist  leaders  had  stated  over  and  over  again  in  the 
most  unmistakable  terms,  both  in  the  recent  debate  on  the 
Address,  and  on  innumerable  former  occasions,  that 
nothing  except  the  "  exclusion  of  Ulster  "  could  furnish  a 
basis  for  negotiation  towards  settlement. 

And  yet,  when  the  Prime  Minister  at  last  put  his  cards 
on  the  table  on  the  9th  of  March,  in  moving  the  second 
reading  of  the  Home  Rule  Bill — which  now  entered  on  its 
third  and  last  lap  under  the  Parliament  Act — it  was  found 
that  his  much-trumpeted  proposals  were  derisory  to  the 
last  degree.  The  scheme  was  that  which  came  to  be  known 
as  county  option  with  a  time  limit.  Any  county  in  Ulster, 
including  the  cities  of  Belfast  and  Derry,  was  to  be  given 
the  right  to  vote  itself  out  of  the  Home  Rule  jurisdiction, 
on  a  requisition  signed  by  a  specified  proportion  of  its 
parliamentary  electorate,  for  a  period  of  six  years. 

Mr.  Bonar  Law  said  at  once,  on  behalf  of  the  Unionist 
Party,  that  apart  from  all  other  objections  to  the  Govern- 
ment scheme,  and  they  were  many,  the  time  limit  for 
exclusion  made  the  whole  proposal  a  mockery.  All  that 
it  meant  was  that  when  the  preparations  in  Ulster  for 
resistance  to  Home  Rule  had  been  got  rid  of — for  it  would 
be  practically  impossible  to  keep  them  in  full  swing  for 
six  years — Ulster  should  then  be  compelled  to  submit  to 
the  very  thing  to  which  she  refused  to  submit  now.  Carson 
described  the  proposal  as  a  "  sentence  of  death  with  a  stay 
of  execution  for  six  years."  He  noted  with  satisfaction 
indeed  the  admission  of  the  principle  of  exclusion,  but 
expressed  his  conviction  that  the  time  limit  had  been  in- 
troduced merely  in  order  to  make  it  impossible  for  Ulster 


172  PREPARATIONS  AND   PROPOSALS 

to  accept.  Ulster  wanted  the  question  settled  once  for 
all,  so  that  she  might  turn  her  attention  from  politics  to 
her  ordinary  business.  The  time  limit  would  keep  the 
fever  of  political  agitation  at  a  high  temperature  for  six 
years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  period  forcible  resistance 
would  be  as  necessary  as  ever,  while  in  the  interval  all 
administration  would  be  paralysed  by  the  unworkable 
nature  of  the  system  to  be  introduced  for  six  years.  Al- 
though there  were  other  gross  blots  on  the  scheme  outlined 
by  the  Prime  Minister,  yet,  if  the  time  limit  were  dropped, 
Carson  said  he  would  submit  it  to  a  convention  in  Belfast ; 
but  he  utterly  declined  to  do  so  if  the  time  limit  was  to 
be  retained. 

The  debate  was  adjourned  indefinitely,  and  before  it 
could  be  resumed  the  whole  situation  was  rendered  still 
more  grave  by  the  events  to  be  narrated  in  the  next 
chapter,  and  by  a  menacing  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  Churchill 
at  Bradford  on  the  14th  of  March.  He  hinted  that,  if 
Ulster  persisted  in  refusing  the  offer  made  by  the  Prime 
Minister,  which  was  the  Government's  last  word,  the  forces 
of  the  Crown  would  have  to  be  employed  against  her  ; 
there  were,  he  said,  "  worse  things  than  bloodshed  even  on 
an  extended  scale  "  ;  and  he  ended  by  saying,  "  Let  us  go 
forward  together  and  put  these  grave  matters  to  the 
proof."  ^  Two  days  later  Mr.  Asquith,  in  answer  to 
questions  in  the  House  of  Commons,  announced  that  no 
particulars  of  the  Government  scheme  would  be  given 
unless  the  principle  of  the  proposals  were  accepted  as  a 
basis  of  agreement. 

The  leader  of  the  Unionist  Party  replied  by  moving  a 
vote  of  censure  on  the  Government  on  the  19th  of  March. 
Mr.  Churchill's  Bradford  speech,  and  one  no  less  defiant 
by  Mr.  Devlin  the  day  following  it,  had  charged  with  in- 
flammable material  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  debate  was 
conducted.  Sir  Edward  Carson  began  his  speech  by  saying 
that,  after  these  recent  events,  "  I  feel  that  I  ought  not  to 
be  here,  but  in  Belfast."  There  were  some  sharp  passages 
between  him  and  Churchill,  whom  he  accused  of  being 
anxious  to  provoke  the  Ulster  people  to  make  an  attack 

1  The  Times,  March  16th,  1914. 


1914]  MR.   CHURCHILL'S  THREAT  178 

on  the  soldiers.  A  highly  provocative  speech  by  Mr. 
Devlin  followed,  at  the  end  of  which  Carson  rose  and  left 
the  House,  saying  audibly,  "  I  am  off  to  Belfast."  He  was 
accompanied  out  of  the  Chamber  by  eight  Ulster  members, 
and  was  followed  by  ringing  and  sustained  cheers  of  en- 
couragement and  approval  from  the  crowded  Unionist 
benches.  It  was  a  scene  which  those  who  witnessed  it 
are  not  likely  to  forget. 

The   idea  of  accommodation   between   the   combatant 
parties  was  at  an  end. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THE   CURRAGH   INCIDENT 

When  Mr.  Bonar  Law  moved  the  vote  of  censure  on  the 
Government  on  the  19th  of  March  he  had  no  idea  that  the 
Cabinet  had  secretly  taken  in  hand  an  enterprise  which, 
had  it  been  known,  would  have  furnished  infinitely  stronger 
grounds  for  their  impeachment  than  anything  relating  to 
their  "  proposals  "  for  amending  the  Home  Rule  Bill.  It 
was  an  enterprise  that,  when  it  did  become  known,  very 
nearly  brought  about  their  fall  from  power. 

The  whole  truth  about  the  famous  "  Curragh  Incident " 
has  never  been  ascertained,  and  the  answers  given  by 
the  Ministers  chiefly  concerned,  under  cross-examination 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  were  so  evasive  and  in  several 
instances  so  contradictory  as  to  make  it  certain  that  they 
were  exceedingly  anxious  that  the  truth  should  be  con- 
cealed. But  when  the  available  evidence  is  pieced  together 
it  leads  almost  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  in  March 
1914  the  Cabinet,  or  at  any  rate  some  of  the  most  prominent 
members  of  it,  decided  to  make  an  imposing  demonstration 
of  military  force  against  Ulster,  and  that  they  expected, 
if  they  did  not  hope,  that  this  operation  would  goad  the 
Ulstermen  into  a  clash  with  the  forces  of  the  Crown,  which, 
by  putting  them  morally  in  the  wrong,  would  deprive 
them  of  the  popular  sympathy  they  enjoyed  in  so  large  and 
increasing  a  measure. 

When  Mr.  Churchill  spoke  at  Bradford  on  the  14th  of 
March  of  "putting  these  grave  matters  to  the  proof" 
he  was  already  deeply  involved  in  what  came  to  be  known 
as  "  the  plot  against  Ulster,"  to  which  his  words  were 
doubtless  an  allusion.  That  plot  may  perhaps  have  origi- 
nated at  Mr.  Lloyd  George's  breakfast-table  on  the  11th, 
when  he  entertained  Mr.  Redmond,  Mr.  Dillon,  Mr.  Devlin, 
Mr.  O'Connor,  and  the  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland,  Mr. 

174 


1914]  THE  HATCHING  OF  THE   PLOT  173 

Birrell ;  for  on  the  same  day  it  was  decided  to  send  a 
squadron  of  battleships  with  attendant  cruisers  and 
destroyers  from  the  coast  of  Spain  to  Lamlash,  in  the  Isle 
of  Arran,  opposite  Belfast  Lough  ;  and  a  sub-committee 
of  the  Cabinet,  consisting  of  Lord  Crewe,  Mr.  Churchill, 
Colonel  Seely,  Mr.  Birrell,  and  Sir  John  Simon,  was  ap- 
pointed to  deal  with  affairs  connected  with  Ulster.  This 
sub-committee  held  its  first  meeting  the  following  day, 
and  the  next  was  the  date  of  Mr.  Churchill's  threatening 
speech  at  Bradford,  with  its  reference  to  the  prospect  of 
bloodshed  and  of  putting  grave  matters  to  the  proof. 
Bearing  in  mind  this  sequence  of  events,  it  is  not  easy  to 
credit  the  contention  of  the  Government,  after  the  plot 
had  been  discovered,  that  the  despatch  of  the  fleet  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Ulster  coast  had  no  connection  with 
the  other  naval  and  military  operations  which  immediately 
followed. 

For  on  the  14th,  while  Churchill  was  travelling  in  the 
train  to  Bradford,  Seely,  the  Secretary  of  State  for  War, 
was  drafting  a  letter  to  Sir  Arthur  Paget,  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  in  Ireland,  informing  him  of  reports  (it  was  never 
discovered  where  the  reports,  which  were  without  the 
smallest  foundation,  came  from)  that  attempts  might  be 
made  "  in  various  parts  of  Ireland  by  evil-disposed  persons  " 
to  raid  Government  stores  of  arms  and  ammunition,  and 
instructing  the  General  to  "  take  special  precautions  "  to 
safeguard  the  military  depots.  It  was  added  that  "  in- 
formation shows  that  Armagh,  Omagh,  Carrickfergus,  and 
Enniskillen  are  insufficiently  guarded."  ^  It  is  permis- 
sible to  wonder,  if  there  was  danger  from  evil-disposed 
persons  "  in  various  parts  of  Ireland,"  from  whom  came 
the  information  that  the  places  particularly  needing  rein- 
forcements were  a  ring  of  strategically  important  towns 
round  the  outskirts  of  the  loyalist  counties  of  Ulster. 

Whatever  the  source  of  the  alleged  "  information  " — 
whether  it  originated  at  Mr.  Lloyd  George's  breakfast- 
table  or  elsewhere — Seely  evidently  thought  it  alarmingly 
urgent,  for  within  forty-eight  hours  he  telegraphed  to 
Paget  asking  for  a  reply  before  8  a.m.  next  morning  as  to 

i  See  White  Paper  (Cd.  7329),  No.  II. 


176  THE   CURRAGH   INCIDENT 

what  steps  he  had  taken,  and  ordering  the  General  to  come 
at  once  to  London,  bringing  with  him  detailed  plans.  On 
the  16th  Sir  A.  Paget  telegraphed  that  he  "  had  taken  all 
available  steps  "  ;  but,  on  second  thoughts,  he  wrote  on  the 
17th  saying  that  there  were  sufficient  troops  at  Enniskillen 
to  guard  the  depot,  that  he  was  making  a  small  increase 
to  the  detachment  at  Carrickfergus,  and  that,  instead  of 
strengthening  the  garrisons  of  Omagh  and  Armagh,  the 
stores  there  were  being  removed — an  operation  that  would 
take  eight  days.  He  explained  his  reason  for  this  departure 
from  instructions  to  be  that  such  a  movement  of  troops  as 
had  been  ordered  by  the  War  Office  would,  "  in  the  present 
state  of  the  country,  create  intense  excitement  in  Ulster 
and  possibly  precipitate  a  crisis."  ^ 

As  soon  as  this  communication  reached  the  War  Office 
orders  were  sent  that  the  arms  and  ammunition  at  Omagh 
and  Armagh,  for  the  safety  of  which  from  evil-disposed 
persons  Seely  had  been  so  apprehensive,  were  not  to  be 
removed,  although  they  had  already  been  packed  for 
transport.  This  order  was  sent  on  the  18th  of  March,  and 
on  the  same  day  Sir  Arthur  Paget  arrived  in  London  from 
Ireland  and  had  a  consultation  with  the  Ulster  sub- 
committee of  the  Cabinet,  and  with  Sir  John  French  and 
other  members  of  the  Army  Council  at  the  War  Office. 

News  of  this  meeting  reached  the  ears  of  Sir  Edward 
Carson,  who  was  also  aware  that  a  false  report  was  being 
spread  of  attempts  by  Unionists  to  influence  the  Army,  and 
in  his  speech  on  the  vote  of  censure  on  the  19th  he  said  : 
"  I  have  never  suggested  that  the  Army  should  not  be 
sent  to  Ulster.  I  have  never  suggested  that  it  should  not 
do  its  duty  when  sent  there.  I  hope  and  expect  it  will." 
At  the  same  time  reports  were  circulating  in  Dublin — did 
they  come  from  Downing  Street  ? — that  the  Government 
were  preparing  to  take  strong  measures  against  the  Ulster 
Unionist  Council,  and  to  arrest  the  leaders.  In  allusion 
to  these  reports  the  Dublin  Correspondent  of  The  Times 
telegraphed  on  the  18th  of  March  :  "  Any  man  or  Govern- 
ment that  increases  the  danger  by  blundering  or  hasty 
action  will  accept  a  terrible  responsibility." 

1  See  White  Paper  (Cd.  7329),  No.  VI. 


1914]  ORDERS   TO  THE  TROOPS  177 

What  passed  at  the  interviews  which  Sir  Arthur  Paget 
had  with  Ministers  on  the  18th  and  19th  has  never  been 
disclosed.  But  it  is  clear,  from  the  events  which  followed, 
either  that  an  entirely  new  plan  on  a  much  larger  scale 
was  now  inaugurated,  or  that  a  development  now  took 
place  which  Churchill  and  Seely,  and  perhaps  other  Minis- 
ters also,  had  contemplated  from  the  beginning  and  had 
concealed  behind  the  pretended  insignificance  of  precau- 
tions to  guard  depots.  It  is  noteworthy,  at  all  events,  that 
the  measures  contemplated  happened  to  be  the  stationing 
of  troops  in  considerable  strength  in  important  strategical 
positions  round  Ulster,  simultaneously  with  the  despatch 
of  a  powerful  fleet  to  within  a  few  hours  of  Belfast. 

The  orders  issued  by  the  War  Office,  at  any  rate,  indi- 
cated something  on  a  far  bigger  scale  than  the  original 
pretext  could  justify.  Paget's  fear  of  precipitating  a 
crisis  was  brushed  aside,  and  General  Friend,  who  was 
acting  for  him  in  Dublin  during  his  absence,  was  instructed 
by  telegram  to  send  to  the  four  Ulster  towns  more  than 
double  the  number  of  men  that  Paget  had  deemed  would  be 
sufficient  to  protect  the  Government  stores.  But  still 
more  significant  was  another  order  given  to  Friend  on  the 
18th.  The  Dorset  Regiment,  quartered  in  the  Victoria 
Barracks  in  Belfast,  were  to  be  moved  four  miles  out  to 
Holy  wood,  taking  with  them  their  stores  and  ammunition, 
amounting  to  some  thirty  tons  ;  and  such  was  the  anxiety 
of  the  Government  to  get  the  troops  out  of  the  city  that 
they  were  told  to  leave  their  rifles  behind,  if  necessary, 
after  rendering  them  useless  by  removing  the  bolts. ^  The 
Government  had  vetoed  Paget's  plan  of  removing  the 
stores  from  Omagh  and  Armagh,  because  their  real  object 
was  to  increase  the  garrisons  at  those  places  ;  but,  as  they 
had  no  scruple  about  moving  the  much  larger  supply  from 
the  Victoria  Barracks  through  the  most  intensely  Orange 
quarter  of  Belfast,  it  could  hardly  be  wondered  at  if  such 
an  order,  under  the  circumstances,  was  held  to  give  colour  to 
the  idea  that  Ministers  wished  to  provoke  violent  opposition 
to  the  troops.  Not  less  inconsistent  with  the  original 
pretext  was  the  despatch  of  a  battalion  to  Newry  and 
1  See  White  Paper  (Cd.  7329),  No.  VII. 


178  THE  CURRAGH   INCIDENT 

Dundalk.  At  the  latter  place  there  was  already  a  brigade 
of  artillery,  with  eighteen  guns,  which  would  prove  a  tough 
nut  for  "  evil-disposed  persons  "  to  crack  ;  and  although 
both  towns  would  be  important  points  to  hold  with  an 
army  making  war  on  Ulster,  they  were  both  in  Nationalist 
territory  where  there  could  be  no  fear  of  raids  by  Unionists. 
Yet  the  urgency  was  considered  so  great  at  the  War  Office 
to  occupy  these  places  in  strength  not  later  than  the  20th 
that  two  cruisers  were  ordered  to  Kingstown  to  take  the 
troops  to  Dundalk  by  sea,  if  there  should  be  difficulty 
about  land  transport. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  actual  design  of  Mr. 
Churchill  and  Colonel  Seely,  who  appear  to  have  practically 
taken  the  whole  management  of  the  affair  into  their  own 
hands,  the  dispositions  must  have  suggested  to  anyone 
with  elementary  knowledge  of  military  matters  that 
nothing  less  than  an  overpowering  attack  on  Belfast  was 
in  contemplation.  The  transfer  of  the  troops  from  Vic- 
toria Barracks,  where  they  would  have  been  useful  to 
support  the  civil  power  in  case  of  rioting,  to  Holywood, 
where  they  would  be  less  serviceable  for  that  purpose  but 
where  they  would  be  in  rapid  communication  by  water 
with  the  garrson  of  Carrickfergus  on  the  opposite  shore 
of  the  Lough  ;  the  ordering  of  H.M.S.  Pathfinder  and 
Attentive  to  Belfast  Lough,  where  they  were  to  arrive  "  at 
daybreak  on  Saturday  the  21st  instant  "  with  instructions 
to  support  the  soldiers  if  necessary  "  by  guns  and  search- 
lights from  the  ships  ^  "  ;  the  secret  and  rapid  garrisoning 
of  strategic  points  on  all  the  railways  leading  to  Belfast, — 
all  this  pointed,  not  to  the  safeguarding  of  stores  of  army 
boots  and  rifles,  but  to  operations  of  an  offensive  campaign. 

It  was  in  this  light  that  the  Commander-in-Chief  in 
Ireland  himself  interpreted  his  instructions,  and,  seeing  that 
he  had  taken  the  responsibility  of  not  fully  obeying  the 
much  more  modest  orders  he  had  received  in  Ireland  on  the 
14th,  it  is  easy  to  understand  that  he  thought  the  steps  now 
to  be  taken  would  lead  to  serious  consequences.  He  also 
foresaw  that  he  might  have  trouble  with  some  of  the  officers 
under  his  command,  for  before  leaving  London  he  persuaded 
1  White  Paper  (Cd.  7329),  Part  II,  No.  II. 


1914]      SIR   ARTHUR   FACET'S   INSTRUCTIONS        179 

the  Secretary  of  State  and  Sir  John  French  to  give  the 
following  permission  :  "  Officers  actually  domiciled  in 
Ulster  would  be  exempted  from  taking  part  in  any  opera- 
tion that  might  take  place.  They  would  be  permitted  to 
'  disappear  '  [that  being  the  exact  phrase  used  by  the  War 
Office],  and  when  all  was  over  would  be  allowed  to  resume 
their  places  without  their  career  or  position  being  affected."  ^ 

Having  obtained  this  concession,  Sir  Arthur  Paget 
returned  the  same  night  to  Dublin,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
20th  and  had  a  conference  with  his  general  officers. 

He  told  them  of  the  instructions  he  had  received,  which 
the  Government  called  "  precautionary "  and  believed 
"  would  be  carried  out  without  resistance."  The  Com- 
mander-in-Chief did  not  share  the  Government's  optimism. 
He  thought  "  that  the  moves  would  create  intense  excite- 
ment," that  by  next  day  "  the  country  would  be  ablaze," 
and  that  the  result  might  be  "active  operations  against 
organised  bodies  of  the  Ulster  Volunteer  Force  under  their 
responsible  leaders."  With  regard  to  the  permission  for 
officers  domiciled  in  Ulster  to  "  disappear,"  he  informed 
his  generals  that  any  other  officers  who  were  not  prepared 
to  carry  out  their  duty  would  be  dismissed  the  Service. 

There  was,  apparently,  some  misunderstanding  as  to 
whether  officers  without  an  Ulster  domicile  who  objected 
to  fight  against  Ulster  were  to  say  so  at  once  and  accept 
dismissal,  or  were  to  wait  until  they  received  some  specific 
order  which  they  felt  unable  to  obey.  Many  of  the 
officers  understood  the  General  to  mean  the  former  of 
these  two  alternatives,  and  the  Colonel  of  one  line  regiment 
gave  his  officers  half  an  hour  to  make  up  their  minds  on  a 
question  affecting  their  whole  future  career  ;  every  one  of 
them  objected  to  going  against  Ulster,  and  "  nine  or  ten 
refused  under  any  condition  "  to  do  so.*  Another  regi- 
mental commanding  officer  told  his  subordinates  that 
"  steps  have  been  taken  in  Ulster  so  that  any  aggression 
must  come  from  the  Ulsterites,  and  they  will  have  to  shed 
the  first  blood,"  on  which  his  comment  was  :  "  The  idea  of 
provoking  Ulster  is  hellish."  * 

1  White  Paper  (Cd.  7329),  Part  III. 

•  See  Parliamtntary  Debates,  vol.  Ix,  ]p.  73.  '  Ibid.,  p.  426, 


180  THE   CURRAGH   INCIDENT 

In  consequence  of  what  he  learnt  at  the  conference  with 
his  generals  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  Sir  Arthur  Paget 
telegraphed  to  the  War  Office  :  "  Officer  Commanding  5th 
Lancers  states  that  all  officers  except  two,  and  one  doubtful, 
are  resigning  their  commissions  to-day.  I  much  fear  same 
conditions  in  the  16th  Lancers.  Fear  men  will  refuse  to 
move  ^  "  ;  and  later  in  the  day  he  reported  that  the  "  Briga- 
dier and  57  officers,  3rd  Cavalry  Brigade,  prefer  to  accept 
dismissal  if  ordered  north."  «  Next  day  he  had  to  add  that 
the  Colonel  and  all  the  officers  of  the  4th  Hussars  had  taken 
up  the  same  attitude.' 

This  was  very  disconcerting  news  for  the  War  Office, 
where  it  had  been  taken  for  granted  that  very  few,  if  any, 
officers,  except  perhaps  a  few  natives  of  Ulster,  would  elect 
to  wreck  their  careers,  if  suddenly  confronted  with  so  ter- 
rible a  choice,  rather  than  take  part  in  operations  against 
the  Ulster  Loyalists.  Instructions  were  immediately  wired 
to  Paget  in  Dublin  to  "  suspend  any  senior  officers  who 
have  tendered  their  resignations  "  ;  to  refuse  to  accept  the 
resignation  of  junior  officers  ;  and  to  send  General  Gough, 
the  Brigadier  in  command  of  the  3rd  Cavalry  Brigade,  and 
the  commanding  officers  of  the  two  Lancer  regiments  and 
the  4th  Hussars,  to  report  themselves  promptly  at  the  War 
Office  after  relieving  them  of  their  commands. 

Had  the  War  Office  made  up  its  mind  what  to  do  with 
General  Gough  and  the  other  cavalry  officers  when  they 
arrived  in  London  ?  The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the 
correspondence  published  by  the  Government  makes  it 
appear  probable  that  the  first  intention  was  to  punish 
these  officers  severely  poiir  encourager  les  auires.  An 
officer  to  replace  Gough  had  actually  been  appointed  and 
sent  to  Ireland,  though  Mr.  Asquith  denied  in  the  House 
of  Commons  that  the  offending  generals  had  been  dis- 
missed. But,  if  that  was  the  intention,  it  was  abandoned. 
The  reason  is  not  plain  ;  but  the  probability  is  that  it  had 
been  discovered  that  sympathy  with  Gough  was  widespread 
in  the  Army,  and  that  his  dismissal  would  bring  about  very 
numerous  resignations.     It  was  said  that  a  large  part  of  the 

1  Cd.  7329,  No.  XVII. 

«  Ibid.,  Nos.  XVIII,  XX.  ■  Ibid.,  Nos.  XXII,  XXIII. 


1914]  THE   PECCANT   PARAGRAPHS  181 

Staff  of  the  War  Office  itself  would  have  laid  down  their 
commissions,  and  that  Aldershot  would  have  been  denuded 
of  officers.^  Colonel  Seely  himself  described  it  as  a  "  situa- 
tion of  grave  peril  to  the  Army."  ' 

Anyhow,  no  disciplinary  action  of  any  kind  was  taken. 
It  was  decided  to  treat  the  matter  as  one  of  "  misunder- 
standing," and  when  Gough  and  his  brother  officers  ap- 
peared at  the  War  Office  on  Monday  the  23rd  they  were 
told  that  it  was  all  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  ever  intended  warlike  operations  against  Ulster 
(the  orders  to  the  fleet  had  been  cancelled  by  wireless  on  the 
21st),  and  that  they  might  return  at  once  to  their  com- 
mands, with  the  assurance  that  they  would  not  be  required 
to  serve  against  Ulster  Loyalists.  General  Gough,  who 
before  leaving  Ireland  had  asked  Sir  A.  Paget  for  a  clear 
definition  in  writing  of  the  duties  that  officers  would  be 
expected  to  perform  if  they  went  to  Ulster,'  thought  that  in 
view  of  the  "  misunderstanding  "  it  would  be  wise  to  have 
Colonel  Seely's  assurance  also  in  black  and  white.  Seely 
had  to  hurry  off  to  a  Cabinet  Meeting,  and  in  his  absence 
the  Adjutant-General  reduced  to  writing  the  verbal  state- 
ment of  the  Secretary  of  State.  A  very  confused  story 
about  the  subsequent  fortunes  of  this  piece  of  paper  made 
it  the  central  mystery  round  which  raged  angry  debates. 
This  much,  however,  is  not  doubtful.  Seely  went  from  the 
Cabinet  to  Buckingham  Palace ;  when  he  returned  to 
Downing  Street  the  paper  was  there,  but  the  Cabinet  had 
broken  up.  He  looked  at  the  paper,  saw  that  it  did  not 
accurately  reproduce  the  assurance  he  had  verbally  given 
to  Gough,  and  with  the  help  of  Lord  Morley  he  thereupon 
added  two  paragraphs  (which  Mr.  Balfour  designated  "  the 
peccant  paragraphs  ")  to  make  it  conform  to  his  promise. 
The  addition  so  made  was  the  only  part  of  the  document 
that  gave  the  assurance  that  the  officers  would  not  be  called 
upon  "  to  crush  political  opposition  to  the  policy  or  prin- 
ciples of  the  Home  Rule  Bill."  W^ith  this  paper  in  his 
pocket  General  Gough  returned  to  his  command  at  the 
Curragh. 

1  See  Parliamentary  Debates,  vol.  Ix,  p.   246.  *  Ibid.,  p.  400. 

«  White  Paper  (Cd.  7329),  No.  XX. 


182  THE  CURRAGH  INCIDENT 

There  the  matter  might  have  ended  had  not  some  of  the 
facts  become  known  to  Unionist  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  to  the  Press.  On  Sunday,  the  22nd,  Mr. 
Asquith  sent  a  communication  to  The  Times  (published  on 
the  23rd)  in  which  he  minimised  the  whole  matter,  putting 
forward  the  original  pretext  of  movements  of  troops  solely 
to  protect  Government  property — an  account  at  variance 
with  a  statement  two  days  later  by  Churchill  in  regard  to 
the  reason  for  naval  movements — and  on  the  23rd  Seely 
also  made  a  statement  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the 
same  lines  as  the  Prime  Minister's,  which  ended  by  saying 
that  all  the  movements  of  troops  were  completed  "  and  all 
orders  issued  have  been  punctually  and  implicitly  obeyed." 
This  was  an  hour  or  two  after  his  interview  with  the  generals 
who  had  been  summoned  from  Ireland  to  be  dismissed  for 
refusal  to  obey  orders. 

But  Mr.  Bonar  Law  had  his  own  information,  which  was 
much  fuller  than  the  Government  imagined.  A  long  and 
heated  debate  followed  Colonel  Seely's  statement,  and  was 
continued  on  the  two  following  days,  gradually  dragging  to 
light  the  facts  with  a  much  greater  profusion  of  detail  than 
is  necessary  for  this  narrative.  On  the  24th  Mr.  L.  S. 
Amery  made  a  speech  which  infuriated  the  Radicals  and 
Labour  members,  but  the  speaker,  as  was  his  intention, 
made  them  quite  as  angry  with  the  Government  as  with 
himself.  The  cause  of  offence  was  that  the  Government 
was  thought  to  have  allowed  itself  to  be  coerced  by  the 
soldiers,  while  the  latter  had  been  allowed  to  make  their 
obedience  to  orders  contingent  on  a  bargain  struck  with  the 
Government.  This  aspect  of  the  case  was  forcibly  argued 
by  Mr.  J.  Ward,  the  Labour  member  for  Stoke,  in  a  speech 
greatly  admired  by  enthusiasts  for  "  democratic  "  prin- 
ciples. Although  Mr.  Ward's  invective  was  mainly  directed 
against  the  Unionist  Opposition,  the  latter  listened  to  it 
with  secret  pleasure,  perceiving  that  it  was  in  reality  more 
damaging  to  the  Government  than  to  themselves,  since 
Ministers  were  forced  into  an  attitude  of  defence  against 
their  own  usually  docile  supporters.  It  may  here  be 
mentioned  that  at  a  much  later  date,  when  Mr.  John  Ward, 
in  the  light  of  experience  gained  by  his  own  distinguished 


1914]  A   PUT-UP   JOB  188 

service  as  an  officer  in  the  Great  War,  had  come  to  the  con- 
viction that  "  the  possibility  of  forcing  Ulster  within  the 
ambit  of  a  Dublin  Parliament  has  now  become  unthink- 
able," he  acknowledged  that  in  1914  the  only  way  by  which 
Mr.  Asquith's  Home  Rule  Act  could  have  been  enforced  was 
through  and  by  the  power  of  the  Army.^ 

So  much  shaken  were  the  Government  by  these  attacks 
that  on  the  next  day,  the  25th  of  March,  Colonel  Seely,  at 
the  end  of  a  long  narrative  of  the  transaction,  announced  his 
resignation  from  the  Government.  He  had,  he  said,  un- 
intentionally misled  his  colleagues  by  adding  without  their 
knowledge  to  the  paper  given  to  General  Gough ;  the 
Cabinet  as  a  whole  was  quite  innocent  of  the  great  offence 
given  to  democratic  sentiment.  This  announcement  having 
had  the  desired  effect  of  relieving  the  Ministry  as  a  whole 
from  responsibility  for  the  "  peccant  paragraphs,"  and 
averting  Radical  wrath  from  their  heads,  the  Prime 
Minister  later  in  the  debate  said  he  was  not  going  to  accept 
Seely's  resignation.  Yet  Mr.  Churchill  exhibited  a  fine 
frenzy  of  indignation  against  Mr.  Austen  Chamberlain  for 
describing  it  as  a  "  put-up  job." 

Only  a  fairly  fertile  imagination  could  suggest  a  transac- 
tion to  which  the  phrase  would  be  more  justly  applicable. 
The  idea  that  Seely,  in  adding  the  paragraphs,  was  tamper- 
ing in  any  way  with  the  considered  policy  of  the  Cabinet 
was  absurd,  although  it  served  the  purpose  of  averting  a 
crisis  in  the  House  of  Commons.  He  had  been  in  constant 
and  close  communication  with  Churchill,  who  had  himself 
been  present  at  the  War  Office  Conference  with  Gough,  and 
who  had  seen  the  Prime  Minister  earlier  in  company  with 
Sir  John  French.  The  whole  business  had  been  discussed 
at  the  Cabinet  Meeting,  and  when  Seely  returned  from  his 
audience  of  the  King  he  found  the  Prime  Minister,  Mr. 
Churchill,  and  Lord  Morley  still  in  the  Cabinet  room.  Mr. 
Asquith  said  on  the  25th  in  the  House  of  Commons  that  no 
Minister  except  Seely  had  seen  the  added  paragraphs,  and 
almost  at  the  same  moment  in  the  House  of  Lords  Lord 
Morley  was  saying  that  he  had  helped  Seely  to  draft  them. 

*  The  Nineteenth  Century  and   After,  January  1921,  art.    "  The  Army 
and  Ireland,"  by  Lieut.-Colonel  John  Ward,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  M.P. 

13 


184  THE   CURRAGH   INCIDENT 

Moreover,  Lord  Morley  actually  took  a  copy  of  them,  which 
he  read  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  he  included  the  sub- 
stance of  them  in  his  exposition  of  the  Government  policy 
in  the  Upper  House. 

Furthermore,  General  Gough  was  on  his  way  to  Ireland 
that  night,  and  if  it  had  been  true  that  the  Prime  Minister, 
or  any  other  Minister,  disapproved  of  what  Seely  had  done, 
there  was  no  reason  why  Gough  should  not  have  found  a 
telegram  waiting  for  him  at  the  Curragh  in  the  morning 
cancelling  Seely's  paragraphs  and  withdrawing  the  assur- 
ance they  contained.  No  step  of  that  kind  was  taken,  and 
the  Government,  while  repudiating  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons the  action  for  which  Seely  was  allowed  to  take  the 
sole  responsibility,  permitted  Gough  to  retain  in  his 
despatch-box  the  document  signed  by  the  Army  Council. 

For  it  was  not  only  the  Secretary  of  State  for  War  who 
was  involved.  The  memorandum  had  been  written  by  the 
Adjutant-General,  and  it  bore  the  initials  of  Sir  John  French 
and  Sir  Spencer  Ewart  as  well  as  Colonel  Seely's.  These 
members  of  the  Army  Council  knew  that  the  verbal  as- 
surance given  by  the  Secretary  of  State  to  Gough  had  not 
been  completely  embodied  in  the  written  memorandum 
without  the  paragraph  which  had  been  repudiated  after 
the  debate  in  the  Commons  on  the  24th,  and  they  were  not 
prepared  to  go  back  on  their  written  word,  or  to  be  satisfied 
by  the  "  put-up  job  "  resignation  of  their  civilian  Chief. 
They  both  sent  in  their  resignations  ;  and,  as  they  refused 
even  under  pressure  to  withdraw  them,  the  Secretary  of 
State  had  no  choice  but  to  do  the  same  on  the  30th  of  March, 
this  time  beyond  recall.  Mr.  Asquith  announced  on  the 
same  day  that  he  had  himself  become  Secretary  of  State 
for  War,  and  would  have  to  go  to  Scotland  for  re-election. 

The  facts  as  here  related  were  only  extracted  by  the 
most  persistent  and  laborious  cross-examination  of  the 
Government,  who  employed  all  the  familiar  arts  of  official 
evasion  in  order  to  conceal  the  truth  from  the  country. 
Day  after  day  Ministers  were  bombarded  by  batteries  of 
questions  in  the  House  of  Commons,  in  addition  to  the 
lengthy  debates  that  occupied  the  House  for  several  con- 
secutive days.     This  pressure  compelled  the  Prime  Minister 


1914]  MINISTERIAL   EVASION  185 

to  produce  a  White  Paper,  entitled  "  Correspondence 
relating  to  Recent  Events  in  the  Irish  Command."  ^  It 
was  published  on  the  25th  of  March,  the  third  day  of  the 
continuous  debates,  and,  although  Mr.  Asquith  said  it 
contained  "  all  the  material  documents,"  it  was  immediately 
apparent  to  members  who  had  closely  studied  the  admis- 
sions that  had  been  dragged  from  the  Ministers  chiefly 
concerned,  that  it  was  very  far  from  doing  so.  Much  the 
most  important  documents  had,  in  fact,  been  withheld. 
Suspicion  as  to  the  good  faith  of  the  Government  was 
increased  when  it  was  found  that  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
Lord  Plaldane,  had  interpolated  into  the  official  Report  of 
his  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords  a  significant  word  which 
transformed  his  definite  pledge  that  Ulster  would  not  be 
coerced,  into  a  mere  statement  that  no  "  immediate  " 
coercion  was  contemplated. 

In  the  face  of  such  evasion  and  prevarication  it  was  out 
of  the  question  to  let  the  matter  drop.  On  the  22nd  of 
April  the  Government  was  forced  to  publish  a  second 
White  Paper/  which  contained  a  large  number  of  highly 
important  documents  omitted  from  the  first.  But  it  was 
evident  that  much  was  still  being  kept  back,  and,  in  parti- 
cular, that  what  had  passed  between  Sir  Arthur  Paget  and 
his  officers  at  a  conference  mentioned  in  the  published  cor- 
respondence was  being  carefully  concealed.  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  demanded  a  judicial  inquiry,  where  evidence  could  be 
taken  on  oath.  Mr.  Asquith  refused,  saying  that  an  in- 
sinuation against  the  honour  of  Ministers  could  only  be 
properly  investigated  by  the  House  of  Commons  itself, 
and  that  a  day  would  be  given  for  a  vote  of  censure  if  the 
leader  of  the  Opposition  meant  that  he  could  not  trust  the 
word  of  Ministers  of  the  Crown.  Mr.  Bonar  Law  sharply 
retorted  that  he  "  had  already  accused  the  Prime  Minister 
of  making  a  statement  which  was  false."  '  But  even  this 
did  not  suffice  to  drive  the  Government  to  face  the  ordeal 
of  having  their  own  account  of  the  affair  at  the  Curragh 
sifted  by  the  sworn  evidence  of  others  who  knew  the  facts. 
They  preferred  to  take  cover  under  the  dutiful  cheers  of 

1   Cd.   7318.  *  Cd.   7329. 

•  Parliamentary  Debates,  vol.  Ixi,  p.  765. 


186  THE   CURRAGH   INCIDENT 

their  parliamentary  majority  when  they  repeated  their 
explanations,  which  had  already  been  proved  to  be  untrue. 

But  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  had,  meantime,  been 
making  inquiries  on  their  own  account.  There  was  nothing 
in  theleast  improper,  although  the  supporters  of  the  Govern- 
ment tried  to  make  out  that  there  was,  in  the  officers  at  the 
Curragh  revealing  what  the  Commander-in-Chief  had  said 
to  them,  so  long  as  they  did  not  communicate  anything  to 
the  Press.  They  were  not,  and  could  not  be,  pledged  to 
secrecy.  It  thus  happened  that  it  was  possible  for  the  Old 
Town  Hall  in  Belfast  to  put  together  a  more  complete 
account  of  the  whole  affair  than  it  suited  the  Government 
to  reveal  to  Parliament.  On  the  17th  of  April  the  Standing 
Committee  issued  to  the  Press  a  statement  giving  the  main 
additional  facts  which  a  sworn  inquiry  would  have  elicited. 
It  bore  the  signatures  of  Lord  Londonderry  and  Sir  Edward 
Carson,  and  there  can  have  been  few  foolhardy  enough  to 
suggest  that  these  were  men  who  would  be  likely  to  take 
such  a  step  without  first  satisfying  themselves  as  to  the 
trustworthiness  of  the  evidence,  a  point  on  which  the 
judgment  of  one  of  them  at  all  events  was  admittedly 
unrivalled. 

From  this  statement  it  appeared  that  Sir  Arthur  Paget, 
so  far  from  indicating  that  mere  "  precautionary  measures  " 
for  the  protection  of  Government  stores  were  in  contem- 
plation, told  his  generals  that  preparations  had  been  made 
for  the  employment  of  some  25,000  troops  in  Ulster,  in 
conjunction  with  naval  operations.  The  gravity  of  the 
plan  was  revealed  by  the  General's  use  of  the  words 
"  battles  "  and  "  the  enemy,"  and  his  statement  that  he 
would  himself  be  "  in  the  firing  line  "  at  the  first  "  battle." 
He  said  that,  when  some  casualties  had  been  suffered  by  the 
troops,  he  intended  to  approach  "  the  enemy  "  with  a  flag 
of  truce  and  demand  their  surrender,  and  if  this  should  be 
refused  he  would  order  an  assault  on  their  position.  The 
cavalry,  whose  pro-Ulster  sentiments  must  have  been  well 
known  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  were  told  that  they 
would  only  be  required  to  prevent  the  infantry  "  bumping 
into  the  enemy,"  or  in  other  words  to  act  as  a  cavalry 
screen  ;  that  they  would  not  be  called  upon  to  fire  on  "  the 


1914]  THE   TRUTH   MADE   KNOWN  187 

enemy  "  ;  and  that  as  soon  as  the  infantry  became  en- 
gaged, they  would  be  withdrawn  and  sent  to  Cork,  where 
*'  a  disturbance  would  be  arranged  "  to  provide  a  pretext 
for  the  movement.  A  Military  Governor  of  Belfast  was  to 
be  appointed,  and  the  general  purpose  of  the  operations  was 
to  blockade  Ulster  by  land  and  sea,  and  to  provoke  the 
Ulstermen  to  shed  the  first  blood. 

The  publication  of  this  statement  with  the  authority  of 
the  two  Ulster  leaders  created  a  tremendous  sensation. 
But  it  probably  strengthened  the  resolution  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  refuse  at  all  costs  a  judicial  inquiry,  which  they 
knew  would  only  supply  sworn  corroboration  of  the  Ulster 
Unionist  Council's  story.  In  this  they  were  assisted  in  an 
unexpected  way.  Just  when  the  pressure  was  at  its  high- 
est, relief  came  by  the  diversion  of  attention  and  interest 
caused  by  another  startling  event  in  Ulster,  which  will  be 
described  in  the  following  chapters. 

This  Curragh  Incident,  which  caused  intense  and  pro- 
longed excitement  in  March  1914,  and  nearly  upset  the 
Asquith  Government,  had  more  than  momentary  import- 
ance in  connection  with  the  Ulster  Movement.  It  proved 
to  demonstration  the  intense  sympathy  with  the  loyalist 
cause  that  pervaded  the  Army.  That  sympathy  was  not, 
as  Radical  politicians  like  Mr.  John  Ward  believed,  an 
aristocratic  sentiment  only  to  be  found  in  the  mess-rooms 
of  smart  cavalry  regiments.  It  existed  in  all  branches  of 
the  Service,  and  among  the  rank  and  file  as  well  as  the 
commissioned  ranks.  Sir  Arthur  Paget's  telegram  re- 
porting to  the  War  Office  the  feeling  in  the  5th  and  16th 
Lancers,  said,  "  Fear  men  will  refuse  to  move."  ^  The  men 
had  not  the  same  facility  as  the  officers  in  making  their 
sentiments  known  at  headquarters,  but  their  sympathies 
were  the  same. 

The  Government  had  no  excuse  for  being  ignorant  of  this 
feeling  in  the  Army.  It  had  been  a  matter  of  notoriety  for 
a  long  time.  Its  existence  and  its  danger  had  been  re- 
ported by  Lord  Wolseley  to  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  back 
in  the  old  days  of  Gladstonian  Home  Rule,  in  a  letter  that 
had  been  since  published.     In  July  1913  The  Times  gave 

1  White  Paper  (Cd.  7329),  No.  XVII.     See  ante,  p.  180. 


188  THE  CURRAGH   INCIDENT 

the  warning  in  a  leading  article  that  '  the  crisis,  the 
approach  of  which  Ministers  affect  to  treat  with  unconcern, 
is  already  causing  uneasiness  and  apprehension  in  the  public 
Services,  and  especially  in  the  Army.  ...  It  is  notorious 
that  some  officers  have  already  begun  to  speak  of  sending 
in  their  papers."  Lord  Roberts  had  uttered  a  significant 
warning  in  the  House  of  Lords  not  long  before  the  incident 
at  the  Curragh.  Colonel  Seely  himself  had  been  made 
aware  of  it  in  the  previous  December  when  he  signed  a  War 
Office  Memorandum  on  the  subject  ^ ;  and,  indeed,  no 
officer  could  fail  to  be  aware  of  it  who  had  ever  been  quar- 
tered in  Ireland. 

Nor  was  it  surprising  that  this  sympathy  should  manifest 
itself.  No  one  is  quicker  to  appreciate  the  difference 
between  loyalty  and  disloyalty  than  the  soldier.  There 
were  few  regiments  in  the  Army  that  had  not  learnt  by 
experience  that  the  King's  uniform  was  constantly  insulted 
in  Nationalist  Ireland,  and  as  invariably  welcomed  and 
honoured  in  Ulster.  In  the  vote  of  censure  debate  on  the 
19th  of  March  Mr.  Cave  quoted  an  Irish  newspaper,  which 
had  described  the  British  Army  as  "  the  most  immoral  and 
degraded  force  in  Europe,"  and  warned  Irishmen  that,  by 
joining  it,  all  they  would  get  was  "  a  red  coat,  a  dishonoured 
name,  a  besmirched  character."  On  the  other  hand,  the 
very  troops  who  were  sent  North  from  the  Curragh  against 
the  advice  of  Sir  Arthur  Paget,  to  provoke  "  the  Ulster ites 
to  shed  the  first  blood,"  had,  as  the  Commander-in-Chief 
reported,  "  everywhere  a  good  reception."  * 

The  welcoming  cheers  at  Holywood  and  Carrickfergus 
and  Armagh  were  probably  a  pleasant  novelty  to  men 
fresh  from  the  Curragh  or  Fermoy.  Even  in  Belfast  itself 
the  contrast  was  brought  home  to  troops  quartered  in 
Victoria  Barracks,  all  of  whom  were  well  aware  that  on  the 
death  of  a  comrade  his  coffin  would  have  to  be  borne  by  a 
roundabout  route  to  the  cemetery,  to  avoid  the  Nationalist 
quarter  of  the  city  where  a  military  funeral  would  be  ex- 
posed to  insult. 

Such  experiences,  as  they  harden  into  traditions,  sink 
deep  into  the  consciousness  of  an  Army  and  breed  senti- 
1  White  Paper  (Cd.  7329),  No.  I.  *  ibjd.,  No.  XXVII. 


1914]  HUMAN  NATURE   IN  THE  ARMY  189 

ments  that  are  not  easily  eradicated.  Soldiers  ought,  of 
course,  to  have  no  politics  ;  but  when  it  appeared  that 
they  might  be  called  upon  to  open  fire  on  those  whom  they 
had  always  counted  "  on  our  side,"  in  order  to  subject 
them  forcibly  to  men  who  hated  the  sight  of  a  British  flag 
and  were  always  ready  to  spit  upon  it,  human  nature 
asserted  itself.  And  the  incident  taught  the  Government 
something  as  to  the  difficulty  they  would  have  in  enforcing 
the  Home  Rule  Bill  in  Ulster. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

ARMING   THE   U.V.F. 

If  the  "  evil-disposed  persons  "  who  so  excited  the  fancy  of 
Colonel  Seely  were  supposed  to  be  Ulster  Loyalists,  the 
whole  story  was  an  absurdity  that  did  no  credit  to  the 
Government's  Intelligence  in  Ireland  ;  and  if  there  ever 
was  any  "  information,"  such  as  the  War  Office  alleged,  it 
must  have  come  from  a  source  totally  ignorant  of  Ulster 
psychology.  Raids  on  Government  stores  were  never  part 
of  the  Ulster  programme.  The  excitement  of  the  Curragh 
Incident  passed  off  without  causing  any  sort  of  disturbance, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  troops  who  were  sent  North 
received  everywhere  in  Ulster  a  loyal  welcome.  This  was  a 
fine  tribute  to  the  discipline  and  restraint  of  the  people, 
and  was  a  further  proof  of  their  confidence  in  their  leaders. 

Those  leaders,  it  happened,  w^ere  at  that  very  moment 
taking  measures  to  place  arms  in  the  hands  of  the  U.V.F. 
without  robbing  Government  depots  or  any  one  else.  That 
method  was  left  to  their  opponents  in  Ireland  at  a  later 
date,  who  adopted  it  on  an  extensive  scale  accompanied  by 
systematic  terrorism.  The  Ulster  plan  was  quite  different. 
All  the  arms  they  obtained  were  paid  for,  and  their  only 
crime  was  that  they  successfully  hoodwinked  Mr.  Asquith's 
colleagues  and  agents. 

Every  movement  has  its  Fabius,  and  also  its  Hotspur. 
Both  are  needed — the  men  of  prudence  and  caution,  anxious 
to  avoid  extreme  courses,  slow  to  commit  themselves  too 
far  or  to  burn  their  boats  with  the  river  behind  them  ; 
and  the  impetuous  spirits,  who  chafe  at  half-measures, 
cannot  endure  temporising,  and  are  impatient  for  the  order 
to  advance  against  any  odds.  Major  F.  H.  Cra\\'ford  had 
more  of  the  temperament  of  a  Hotspur  than  of  a  Fabius, 
but  he  nevertheless  possessed  qualities   of  patience,  re- 

190 


1914]  CRAWFORD'S   ADVERTISEMENTS  191 

ticence,  discretion,  and  coolness  which  enabled  him  to 
render  invaluable  service  to  the  Ulster  cause  in  an  enter- 
prise that  would  certainly  have  miscarried  in  the  hands  of 
a  man  endowed  only  with  impetuosity  and  reckless  courage. 
If  tlie  story  of  his  adventures  in  procuring  arms  for  the 
U.V.F.  be  ever  told  in  minute  detail,  it  will  present  all  the 
features  of  an  exciting  novel  by  Mr.  John  Buchan. 

Fred  Crawford,  the  man  who  followed  a  family  tradition 
when  he  signed  the  Covenant  with  his  own  blood, ^  began  life 
as  a  premium  apprentice  in  Harland  and  Wolf's  great  ship- 
building yard,  after  which  he  served  for  a  year  as  an 
engineer  in  the  White  Star  Line,  before  settling  down  to  his 
father's  manufacturing  business  in  Belfast.  Like  so  many 
ardent  Loyalists  in  Ulster,  he  came  of  Liberal  stock.  He  was 
for  years  honorary  Secretary  of  the  Reform  Club  in  Belfast. 
The  more  staid  members  of  this  highly  respectable  estab- 
lishment were  not  a  little  startled  and  perplexed  when  it 
was  brought  to  their  attention  in  1907  that  advertisements 
in  the  name  of  one  "  Hugh  Matthews,"  giving  the  Belfast 
Reform  Club  as  his  address,  had  appeared  in  a  number  of 
foreign  newspapers — French,  Belgian,  Italian,  German,  and 
Austrian — inquiring  for  "  10,000  rifles  and  one  million 
rounds  of  small-arm  ammunition."  The  membership  of 
the  Club  included  no  Hugh  Matthews  ;  but  inquiry  showed 
that  the  name  covered  the  identity  of  the  Hon.  Secretary  ; 
and  Crawford,  who  sought  no  concealment  in  the  matter, 
justified  the  advertisements  by  pointing  out  that  the 
Liberal  Government  which  had  lately  come  into  power  had 
begun  its  rule  in  Ireland  by  repealing  the  Act  prohibiting 
the  importation  of  arms,  and  that  there  was  therefore 
nothing  illegal  in  what  he  was  doing.  But  he  resigned  his 
secretaryship,  which  he  felt  might  hamper  future  transac- 
tions of  the  same  kind.  The  advertisement  was  no  doubt 
half  bravado  and  half  practical  joke  ;  he  wanted  to  see 
whether  it  would  attract  notice,  and  if  anything  would  come 
of  it.     But  it  had  also  an  element  of  serious  purpose. 

Crawford  regarded  the  advent  to  power  of  the  Liberal 
Party  as  ominous,  as  indeed  all  Ulster  did,  for  the  Liberal 
Party  was  a  Home  Rule  Party  ;  ♦  and  he  had  from  his  youth 

1  Ante,  p.  123. 


192  ARMING  THE   U.V.F. 

been  convinced  that  the  day  would  come  when  Ulster  would 
have  to  carry  out  Lord  Randolph  Churchill's  injunction. 
That  being  so,  he  was  not  the  man  to  tarry  till  solemn 
assemblies  of  merchants,  lawyers,  and  divines  should  pro- 
pound a  policy  ;  if  there  was  to  be  fighting,  Crawford  was 
going  to  be  ready  for  it,  and  thought  that  preparation  for 
such  a  contingency  could  not  begin  too  soon.  And  the 
advertisements  were  not  barren  of  practical  result.  There 
was  an  astonishing  number  of  replies  ;  Crawford  purchased 
a  few  rifles,  and  obtained  samples  of  others  ;  and,  what  was 
more  important,  he  gained  knowledge  of  the  Continental 
trade  in  second-hand  firearms,  which  had  its  centre  in  the 
free  port  of  Hamburg,  and  of  the  men  engaged  in  that  trade. 
This  knowledge  he  turned  to  account  in  1912  and  the  two 
following  years. 

He  had  been  for  nearly  twenty  years  an  officer  of  Artil- 
lery Militia,  and  when  the  U.V.F.  was  organised  in  1912  he 
became  its  Director  of  Ordnance  on  the  headquarters 
staff.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Standing  Committee 
of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council,  where  he  persistently  advo- 
cated preparation  for  armed  resistance  long  before  most 
of  his  colleagues  thought  such  a  policy  necessary.  But 
early  in  1912  he  obtained  leave  to  get  samples  of  procurable 
firearms,  and  his  promptitude  in  acting  on  it,  and  in 
presenting  before  certain  members  of  the  Committee  a 
collection  of  gleaming  rifles  with  bayonets  fixed,  took  away 
the  breath  of  the  more  cautious  of  his  colleagues. 

From  this  time  forward  Crawford  was  frequently  engaged 
in  this  business.  He  got  into  communication  with  the 
dealers  in  arms  whose  acquaintance  he  had  made  six  years 
before.  He  went  himself  to  Hamburg,  and,  after  learning 
something  of  the  chicanery  prevalent  in  the  trade,  which 
it  took  all  his  resourcefulness  to  overcome,  he  fell  in  with 
an  honest  Jew  by  whose  help  he  succeeded  in  sending  a 
thousand  rifles  safely  to  Belfast.  Other  consignments 
followed  from  time  to  time  in  larger  or  smaller  quantities, 
in  the  transport  of  which  all  the  devices  of  old-time 
smuggling  were  put  to  the  test.  Crawford  bought  a 
schooner,  which  for  a  year  or  more  proved  very  useful, 
and,  while  employing  her  in  bringing  arms  to  Ulster,  he 


1914]  SMUGGLING   ADVENTURES  193 

made  acquaintance  with  a  skipper  of  one  of  the  Antrim 
Iron  Ore  Company's  coasting  steamers,  whose  name  was 
Agnew,  a  fine  seaman  of  the  best  type  produced  by  the 
British  JNIcrcantile  Marine,  who  afterwards  proved  an 
invaluable  ally,  to  whose  loyalty  and  ability  Crawford  and 
Ulster  owed  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude,  as  they  also  did  to 
Mr.  Robert  Browne,  ]Managing  Director  of  the  Antrim  Iron 
Ore  Company,  for  placing  at  their  disposal  both  vessels 
and  seamen  from  time  to  time. 

Now  and  then  the  goods  fell  a  victim  to  Custom  House 
vigilance  ;  for  although  there  was  at  this  time  nothing 
illegal  in  importing  firearms,  it  was  not  considered  prudent 
to  carry  on  the  trade  openly,  which  would  certainly  have 
led  to  prohibition  being  introduced  and  enforced  ;  and, 
consequently,  infringements  of  shipping  regulations  had 
to  be  risked,  which  gave  the  authorities  the  right  to  inter- 
fere if  they  discovered  rifles  where  zinc  plates  or  musical 
instruments  ought  to  have  been. 

On  one  occasion  a  case  of  arms  was  shipped  on  a  small 
steamer  from  Glasgow  to  Portrush,  but  was  not  entered 
in  the  manifest,  so  that  the  skipper  (being  a  worthy  man) 
knew  nothing — officially — of  this  box  which  lay  on  deck 
instead  of  descending  into  the  hold.  But  two  Customs 
officials,  who  noticed  it  with  unsatisfied  curiosity,  decided, 
just  as  the  boat  cast  off,  to  make  the  trip  to  Portrush. 
Happily  it  was  a  dirty  night,  and  they,  being  bad  sailors, 
were  constrained  to  take  refuge  from  the  elements  in  the 
Captain's  cabin.  But  when  Portrush  was  reached  search 
and  research  proved  unavailing  to  find  the  mysterious 
box  ;  the  skipper  could  find  no  mention  of  it  in  the  manifest 
and  thought  the  Customs  House  gentlemen  must  have 
been  dreaming  ;  they,  on  the  other  hand,  threatened  to 
seize  the  ship  if  the  box  did  not  materialise,  and  were  told 
to  do  so  at  their  peril.  But  exactly  off  Ballycastle,  which 
had  been  passed  while  the  officials  were  poorly,  there  was 
a  float  in  the  sea  attached  to  a  line,  which  in  due  course 
led  to  the  recovery  of  a  case  of  valuable  property  that 
was  none  the  worse  for  a  few  hours'  rest  on  the  bottom  of 
the  Moyle. 

Qualities  of  a  different  sort  were  called  into  play  in 


194  ARMING  THE  U.V.F. 

negotiating  the  purchase  of  machine-guns  from  Messrs. 
Vickers  &  Co.,  at  Woolwich.  Here  a  strong  American 
accent,  combined  "svith  the  providential  circumstance  that 
Mexico  happened  to  be  in  the  grip  of  revolutionary  civil 
war,  overcame  all  difficulties,  and  Mr.  John  Washington 
Graham,  U.S.A.  (otherwise  Fred  H.  C^a\^^o^d  of  Belfast) 
played  his  part  so  effectively  that  he  did  not  fail  to  finish 
the  deal  by  extracting  a  handsome  commission  for  himself, 
which  found  its  way  subsequently  to  the  coffers  of  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council.  But  he  compensated  the  Com- 
pany by  making  a  suggestion  for  improving  the  mechanism 
of  the  ]Maxim-gun  which  the  great  ordnance  manufacturers 
permanently  adopted  without  having  to  pay  for  any 
patent  rights. 

Major  Cra"\^'ford  was,  however,  by  no  means  the  only 
person  who  was  at  this  time  bringing  arms  and  ammunition 
into  Ulster,  which,  as  already  explained,  although  not 
illegal,  could  not  be  safely  done  openly  on  a  large  scale. 
Ammunition  in  small  quantities  dribbled  into  Belfast 
pretty  constantly,  many  amateur  importers  deriving 
pleasurable  excitement  from  feeling  themselves  con- 
spirators, and  affording  amusement  to  others  by  the 
tales  told  of  the  ingenious  expedients  resorted  to  by  the 
smugglers. 

There  was  a  dock  porter  at  Belfast,  an  intense  admirer 
of  Sir  Edward  Carson,  who  was  the  retailer  of  one  of  the 
best  of  these  stories.  He  was  always  on  the  look-out  for 
the  leader  arriving  by  the  Liverpool  steamer,  and  would 
allow  no  one  else,  if  he  could  help  it,  to  handle  the 
great  man's  hand-baggage  ;  and  when  Carson  was  not  a 
passenger,  any  of  his  satellites  who  happened  to  be 
travelling  came  in  for  vicarious  attention.  Thus,  it 
happened  on  one  occasion  that  the  -wTiter,  arriving  alone 
from  Liverpool,  was  hailed  from  the  shore  before  the  boat 
was  made  fast.  "  Is  Sir  Edward  on  board  ?  "  A  shake 
of  the  head  brought  a  look  of  pathetic  disappointment  to 
the  face  of  the  hero-worshipper  ;  but  he  was  on  board 
before  the  gangway  was  down  and  busy  collecting  the 
belongings  of  the  leader's  unworthy  substitute.  When 
laden   with   these   and   half-way   down  the   gangway   he 


1913]  A  MATRON   OF  DUNGANNON  193 

stopped,  and,  entirely  careless  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
obstructing  a  number  of  passengers  impatient  to  land,  he 
turned  and  whispered — a  whisper  that  might  be  heard 
thirty  yards  off — with  a  knowing  wink  of  the  eye : 

"  We're  getting  in  plenty  of  stuff  now." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  was  the  reply.  "  Never  mind  about  that 
now  ;  put  those  things  on  a  car." 

But  he  continued,  without  budging  from  the  gangway, 
"  Och  aye,  we're  getting  in  plenty  ;  but  my  God,  didn't 
Mrs.  Blank  o'  Dungannon  bate  all  ?  Did  ye  hear  about 
her  ?  " 

"  No,  I  never  heard  of  Mrs.  Blank  of  Dungannon.  But 
do  hurry  along,  my  good  man  ;  you're  keeping  back  all 
the  passengers." 

"  What  !  ye  never  heard  o'  Mrs.  Blank  o'  Dungannon  ? 
Wait  now  till  I  tell  ye.  Mrs.  Blank  came  off  this  boat 
not  a  fortnight  ago,  an'  as  she  came  down  this  gangway  I 
declare  to  God  you'd  ha'  swore  she  was  within  a  week  of 
her  time — and  divil  a  ha'porth  the  matter  with  her,  only 
cartridges.  An'  the  fun  was  that  the  Custom  House  boys 
knowed  rightly  what  it  was,  but  they  dursn't  lay  a  hand 
on  her  nor  search  her,  for  fear  they  were  wrong." 

This  admiring  tribute  to  the  heroic  matron  of  Dungannon 
— whose  real  name  was  not  concealed  by  the  porter — was 
heard  by  a  number  of  people,  and  probably  most  of  them 
thought  themselves  compensated  by  the  story  for  the 
delay  it  caused  them  in  leaving  the  steamer. 

By  the  summer  of  1913  several  thousands  of  rifles  had 
been  brought  into  Ulster ;  but  in  May  of  that  year  the 
mishap  occurred  to  which  Lord  Roberts  referred  in  his 
letter  to  Colonel  Hickman  on  the  4th  of  June,  when  he 
wrote  :  "  I  am  sorry  to  read  about  the  capture  of  rifles."  ^ 
Crawford  had  been  obliged  to  find  some  place  in  London 
for  storing  the  arms  which  he  was  procuring  from  his 
friends  in  Hamburg,  and  with  the  help  of  Sir  William 
Bull,  M.P.  for  Hammersmith,  the  yard  of  an  old-fashioned 
inn  in  that  district  was  found  where  it  was  believed  they 
would  be  safe  until  means  of  transporting  them  to  the 
North  of  Ireland  could  be  devised.     The  inn  was  taken 

1  Ante,  p.  161. 


196  ARMING  THE   U.V.F. 

by  a  firm  calling  itself  John  Ferguson  &  Co.,  the  active 
member  of  which  was  Sir  William  Bull's  brother-in-law, 
Captain  Budden  ;    and  the  business  appeared  to  consist 
of    dealing    in    second-hand    scientific    instruments    and 
machinery,  curiosities,  antique  armour  and  weapons,  old 
furniture,  and  so  forth,  which  were  brought  in  very  heavy 
cases  and  deposited  in  the  yard.     For  a  time  it  proved 
useful,    and   the   Maxims   from   Woolwich   passed   safely 
through  the  Hammersmith  store.     But  the  London  police 
got  wind   of  the  Hammersmith  Armoury,    and   seized   a 
consignment  of  between  six  and  seven  thousand  excellent 
Italian  rifles.     A  rusty  and  little-known   Act  of  Parlia- 
ment had  to  be  dug  up  to  provide  legal  authority  for  the 
seizure.     Many  sportsmen  and  others  then  learnt  for  the 
first   time   that,  under   the   Gun-barrel  Proof  Act,  1868, 
every  gun-barrel  in  England  must  bear  the  Gun-makers' 
Company's  proof-mark  showing  that  its  strength  has  been 
tested  and  approved.     As  the  penalty  for  being  in  posses- 
sion of  guns  not  so  marked  was  a  fine  of  £2  per  barrel,  to 
have  put  in  a  claim  for  the  Italian  rifles  seized  at  Ham- 
mersmith would  have  involved  a  payment  of  more  than 
£12,000,  and  would  have  given  the  Government  informa- 
tion  as   to   the   channel   through   which  they   had   been 
imported.     No  move  was  made,  therefore,  so  far  as  the 
firearms  were  concerned,   but  the   bayonets  attached  to 
them,  for  the  seizure  of  which  there  was  no  legal  justifica- 
tion, were  claimed  by  Crawford's  agent  in  Hamburg,  and 
eventually  reached  Ulster  safely  by  another  route.     About 
the  same  time  a  consignment  of  half  a  million  rounds  of 
small-arm    ammunition,    which    was    discovered    by    the 
authorities  through  faulty  packing  in  cement-bags,  was 
also  confiscated  in  another  part  of  the  country. 

These  losses  convinced  Crawford  that  a  complete  change 
of  method  must  be  adopted  if  faith  was  to  be  kept  with 
the  Ulster  Volunteers,  who  were  implicitly  trusting  their 
leaders  to  provide  them  with  weapons  to  enable  them  to 
make  good  the  Covenant.  More  than  a  year  before  this 
time  he  had  told  the  special  Committee  dealing  with  arms, 
to  which  he  was  immediately  responsible,  that,  in  his 
judgment,  the  only  way  of  dealing  effectively  with  the 


1913]  PREPARING   A   SCHEME  197 

problem  was  not  by  getting  small  quantities  smuggled 
from  time  to  time  by  various  devices  and  through  dis- 
guised ordinary  trade  channels,  but  by  bringing  off  a 
grand  coup,  as  if  running  a  blockade  in  time  of  war.  He 
had  crossed  the  Channel  on  purpose  to  submit  this  view 
to  Sir  Edward  Carson  and  Captain  Craig  early  in  1912,  but 
at  that  time  nothing  was  done  to  give  effect  to  it. 

But  the  seizure  of  so  large  a  number  as  six  thousand 
rifles  at  a  time  when  the  political  situation  looked  like 
moving  towards  a  crisis  in  the  near  future,  made  necessary 
a  bolder  attempt  to  procure  the  necessary  arms.  "When 
General  Sir  George  Richardson  took  command  of  the  U.  V.F. 
in  July  1913  he  placed  Captain  (afterwards  Lieut.-Colonel) 
Wilfrid  Bliss  Spender  on  his  staff,  and  soon  afterwards 
appointed  him  A.Q.M.G.  of  the  Forces.  Captain  Spender's 
duties  comprised  the  supply  of  equipment,  arms,  and 
ammunition,  the  organisation  of  transport,  and  the  super- 
vision of  communications.  He  was  now  requested  to 
confer  with  Major  Fred  Crawford  with  a  view  to  preparing 
a  scheme  for  procuring  arms  and  ammunition,  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  a  special  sub-committee  appointed  to  deal  with 
this  matter,  of  which  Captain  James  Craig  was  chairman. 
Spender  gave  his  attention  mainly  to  the  difficulties  that 
would  attend  the  landing  and  distribution  of  arms  if  they 
reached  Ulster  in  safety ;  Crawford  said  he  could  undertake 
to  purchase  and  bring  them  from  a  foreign  port.  Craw- 
ford's proposed  modus  operandi  may  be  given  in  his  own 
words  : 

"  I  would  immediately  go  to  Hamburg  and  see  B.  S. 
[the  Hebrew  dealer  in  firearms  with  whom  he  had  been  in 
communication  for  some  six  or  seven  years,  and  whom  he 
had  found  perfectly  honest,  and  not  at  all  grasping],  and 
consult  him  as  to  what  he  had  to  offer.  I  would  purchase 
25,000  to  30,000  rifles,  modern  weapons  if  possible,  and  not 
the  Italian  Vetteli  rifles  we  had  been  getting,  all  to  take  the 
same  ammunition  and  fitted  with  bayonets.  I  would 
purchase  a  suitable  steamer  of  600  tons  in  some  foreign 
port  and  load  her  up  with  the  arms,  and  either  bring  her  in 
direct  or  transfer  the  cargo  to  a  local  steamer  in  some 
estuary  or  bay  on  the  Scottish  coast.     I  felt   confident, 


198  ARMING  THE  U.V.F. 

though  I  knew  the  difficulties  in  front  of  me,  that  I  could 
carry  it  through  all  right."  ^ 

The  sub-committee  accepted  Crawford's  proposal,  and, 
when  it  had  been  confirmed  by  Headquarters  Council,  he 
was  commissioned  to  go  to  Hamburg  to  see  how  the  land 
lay.  On  arriving  there  he  found  that  B.  S.  had  still  in  store 
ten  thousand  Vetteli  rifles  and  a  million  rounds  of  ammuni- 
tion for  them,  which  he  had  been  holding  for  Crawford  for 
two  years.  After  a  day  or  two  the  dealer  laid  three  alter- 
native proposals  before  his  Ulster  customer  :  (a)  Twenty 
thousand  Vetteli  rifles,  with  bayonets  (ammunition  would 
have  to  be  specially  manufactured),  {b)  Thirty  thousand 
Russian  rifles  with  bayonets  (lacking  scabbards)  and 
ammunition,  (c)  Fifteen  thousand  new  Austrian,  and  five 
thousand  German  army  rifles  with  bayonets,  both  to  take 
standard  Mannlicher  cartridges. 

The  last  mentioned  of  these  alternatives  was  much  the 
most  costly,  being  double  the  price  of  the  first  and  nearly 
treble  that  of  the  second  ;  but  it  had  great  advantages  over 
the  other  two.  Ammunition  for  the  Italian  weapons  was 
only  manufactured  in  Italy,  and,  if  further  supplies  should 
be  required,  could  only  be  got  from  that  country.  The 
Russian  rifles  were  perfectly  new  and  unused,  but  were  of 
an  obsolete  pattern  ;  they  were  single-loaders,  and  fresh 
supplies  of  cartridges  would  be  nearly  as  difficult  to  procure 
for  them  as  for  the  Italian.  The  Austrian  and  German 
patterns  were  both  first-rate  ;  the  rifles  were  up-to-date 
clip-loaders,  and,  what  was  the  most  important  considera- 
tion, ammunition  for  them  would  be  easily  procurable  in 
the  United  Kingdom  or  from  America  or  Canada. 

But  the  difference  in  cost  was  so  great  that  Crawford 
returned  to  Belfast  to  explain  matters  to  his  Committee, 
calling  in  London  on  his  way  to  inform  Carson  and  Craig. 
He  strongly  urged  the  acceptance  of  the  third  alternative 
offer,  laying  stress,  among  other  considerations,  on  the 
moral  effect  on  men  who  knew  they  had  in  their  hands  the 
most  modern  weapon  with  all  latest  improvements.  Carson 
was  content  to  be  guided  on  a  technical  matter  of  this 
^  From  a  manuscript  narrative  by  Colonel  F.  H.  Crawford. 


1914]  CRAWFORD   AND   CARSON  199 

sort  by  the  judgment  of  a  man  whom  he  knew  to  be  an 
expert,  and  as  James  Craig,  who  was  in  control  of  the  fund 
ear-marked  for  the  purchase  of  arms,  also  agreed,  Crawford 
had  not  much  difficulty  in  persuading  the  Committee  when 
he  reached  Belfast,  although  at  first  they  were  rather 
staggered  by  the  difference  in  cost  between  the  various 
proposals. 

It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  February  1914  that 
Crawford  returned  to  Hamburg  to  accept  this  offer,  and  to 
make  arrangements  with  B.  S.  for  carrying  out  the  rest  of 
his  scheme  for  transporting  his  precious  but  dangerous  cargo 
to  Ulster.  On  his  way  through  London  he  called  again  on 
Carson. 

"  I  pointed  out  to  Sir  Edward,  my  dear  old  Chief,"  says 
Cra^vford  in  a  written  account  of  the  interview,  "  that  some 
of  my  Committee  had  no  idea  of  the  seriousness  of  the 
undertaking,  and,  when  they  did  realise  what  they  were  in 
for,  might  want  to  back  out  of  it.  I  said, '  Once  I  cross  this 
time  to  Hamburg  there  is  no  turning  back  with  me,  no 
matter  what  the  circumstances  are  so  far  as  my  personal 
safety  is  concerned  ;  and  no  contrary  orders  from  the 
Committee  to  cancel  what  they  have  agreed  to  with  me 
will  I  obey.  I  shall  carry  out  the  coup  if  I  lose  my  life  in 
the  attempt.  Now,  Sir  Edward,  you  know  what  I  am 
about  to  undertake,  and  the  risks  those  who  back  me  up 
must  run.  Are  you  willing  to  back  me  to  the  finish  in  this 
undertaking  ?  If  you  are  not,  I  don't  go.  But,  if  you  are, 
I  would  go  even  if  I  knew  I  should  not  return  ;  it  is  for 
Ulster  and  her  freedom  I  am  working,  and  this  alone.'  I 
so  well  remember  that  scene.  We  were  alone  ;  Sir  Edward 
was  sitting  opposite  to  me.  When  I  had  finished,  his  face 
was  stern  and  grim,  and  there  was  a  glint  in  his  eye.  He 
rose  to  his  full  height,  looking  me  in  the  eye  ;  he  advanced 
to  where  I  was  sitting  and  stared  down  at  me,  and  shook 
his  clenched  fist  in  my  face,  and  said  in  a  steady,  deter- 
mined voice,  which  thrilled  me  and  which  I  shall  never 
forget :  '  Crawford,  I'll  see  you  through  this  business,  if  I 
should  have  to  go  to  prison  for  it.'  I  rose  from  my  chair  ; 
I  held  out  my  hand  and  said,  '  Sir  Edward,  that  is  all  I 
want.     I  leave  to-night;  good-bye.'  " 

Next  day  Crawford  was  in  Hamburg.     He  immediately 
14 


200  ARMING  THE  U.V.F. 

concluded  his  agreement  with  B.  S.,  and  began  making 
arrangements  for  carrying  out  the  plan  he  had  outlined  to 
the  Committee  in  Belfast.  As  will  be  seen  in  the  next 
chapter,  he  was  actually  in  the  middle  of  this  adventure  at 
the  very  time  when  Seely  and  Churchill  were  worrying 
lest  "  evil-disposed  persons "  should  raid  and  rob  the 
scantily  stocked  Government  Stores  at  Omagh  and  Ennis- 
killen. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

A    VOYAGE    OF    ADVENTURE 

Although  Mr.   Lloyd  George's  message  to  mankind  on 
New  Year's  Day,  1914,  was  that  "  Anglo-German  relations 
were  far  more  friendly  than  for  years  past,"  ^  and  that 
there  was  therefore  no  need  to  strengthen  the  British  Navy, 
it  may  be  doubted,  with  the  knowledge  we  now  possess, 
whether  the  German  Government  would  have  been  greatly 
incensed  at  the  idea  of  a  cargo  of  firearms  finding  its  way 
from  Hamburg  to  Ireland  in  the  spring  of  that  year  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  British  Government.     But  if 
that  were  the  case  Fred  Crawford  had  no  reason  to  suspect 
it.     German   surveillance  was   always  both  efficient   and 
obtrusive,  and  he  had  to  make  his  preparations  under  a 
vigilance  by  the  authorities  which  showed  no  signs  of  laxity. 
Those   preparations   involved   the   assembling   and   the 
packing  of  20,000  modern  rifles,  15,000  of  which  had  to  be 
brought  from  a  factory  in  Austria  ;   10,000  Italian  rifles 
previously  purchased,  which  B.  S.  had  in  store  ;   bayonets 
for  all  the  firearms  ;  and  upwards  of  3,000,000  rounds  of 
small-arm  ammunition.     The  packing  of  the  arms  was  a 
matter  to  which  Crawford  gave  particular  attention.     He 
kept  in  mind  the  circumstances  under  which  he  expected 
them  to  be  landed  in    Ulster.     Avoidance    of   confusion 
and  rapidity  of  handling  were  of   the  first    importance. 
Rifles,  bayonets,  and  ammunition  must  be  not  separated 
in  bulk,  requiring  to  be  laboriously  reassembled  at  their 
destination.     He    therefore   insisted    that    parcels   should 
be  made  up  containing  five  rifles  in  each,  with  bayonets 
to  match,  and  100  rounds  of  ammunition  per  rifle,  each 
parcel   weighing   about   75    lbs.     He    attached    so   much 
importance  to  this  system  of  packing  that  he  adhered  to  it 

1  Annual  Register,  1914,  p.  1, 
201 


202  A  VOYAGE   OF  ADVENTURE 

even  after  discovering  that  it  would  cost  about  £2,000, 
and  would  take  more  than  a  month  to  complete. 

While  the  work  of  packing  was  going  on,  Crawford,  who 
found  he  was  exciting  the  curiosity  of  the  Hamburg  police, 
kept  out  of  sight  as  much  as  possible,  and  he  paid  more 
than  one  visit  to  the  Committee  in  Belfast,  leaving  the 
supervision  to  the  skipper  and  packer,  whom  he  had  found 
he  could  trust.  In  the  meantime,  by  advertisements  in  the 
Scandinavian  countries,  he  was  looking  out  for  a  suitable 
steamer  to  carry  the  cargo.  For  a  crew  his  thoughts 
turned  to  his  old  friend,  Andrew  Agnew,  skipper  in  the 
employment  of  the  Antrim  Iron  Ore  Company.  Happily 
he  was  not  only  able  to  secure  the  services  of  Agnew  him- 
self, but  Agnew  brought  with  him  his  mate  and  his  chief 
and  second  engineers.  This  was  a  great  gain  ;  for  they 
were  not  only  splendid  men  at  their  job,  but  were  men 
willing  to  risk  their  liberty  or  their  lives  for  the  Ulster 
cause.  Deck-hands  and  firemen  would  be  procurable  at 
whatever  port  a  steamer  was  to  be  bought. 

Several  vessels  were  offered  in  response  to  Crawford's 
advertisements,  and  on  the  1 6th  of  March,  when  the  pack- 
ing of  the  arms  was  well  advanced,  Crawford,  Agnew,  and 
his  chief  engineer  went  to  Norway  to  inspect  these  steamers. 
Eventually  they  selected  the  s.s.  Fanny,  which  had  just 
returned  to  Bergen  with  a  cargo  of  coal  from  Newcastle. 
She  was  only  an  eight-knot  vessel,  but  her  skipper,  a  Nor- 
wegian, gave  a  favourable  report  of  her  sea-going  qualities 
and  coal  consumption,  and  Agnew  and  his  engineer  were 
satisfied  by  their  inspection  of  her.  The  deal  was  quickly 
completed,  and  the  Captain  and  his  Norwegian  crew 
willingly  consented  to  remain  in  charge  of  the  Fanny ;  and, 
in  order  to  enable  her  to  sail  under  the  Norwegian  flag,  as  a 
precaution  against  possible  confiscation  in  British  waters, 
it  was  arranged  that  the  Captain  should  be  the  nominal 
purchaser,  giving  Crawford  a  mortgage  for  her  full  value. 

Then,  leaving  Agnew  to  get  sufficient  stores  on  board  the 
Fanny  for  a  three-months'  cruise,  Crawford  returned  to 
Hamburg  on  the  20th,  and  thence  to  Belfast  to  report 
progress.  Agnew's  orders  were  to  bring  the  Fanny  in 
three  weeks'  time  to  a  rendezvous  marked  on   the  chart 


1914]  ANTICIPATED   DIFFICULTIES  203 

between  the  Danish  islands  of  Langeland  and  Fiinen,  where 
he  was  to  pick  up  the  cargo  of  arms,  which  Crawford  would 
bring  in  lighters  from  Hamburg  through  the  Kiel  Canal. 

While  Crawford  was  in  Belfast  arrangements  were  made 
to  enable  him  to  keep  in  communication  with  Spender,  so 
that  in  case  of  necessity  he  could  be  warned  not  to  approach 
the  Irish  coast,  but  to  cruise  in  the  Baltic  till  a  more 
favourable  opportunity.  He  was  to  let  Spender  know  later 
where  he  could  be  reached  with  final  instructions  as  to 
landing  the  arms  ;  the  rendezvous  so  agreed  upon  subse- 
quently was  Lough  Laxford,  a  wild  and  inaccessible  spot  on 
the  west  coast  of  Sutherlandshire.  Crawford  was  warned 
by  B.  S.  that  he  was  far  from  confident  of  a  successful  end 
to  their  labours  at  Hamburg.  He  had  never  before  shipped 
anything  like  so  large  a  number  of  firearms  ;  and  the  long 
process  of  packing,  and  Crawford's  own  mysterious  coming 
and  going,  would  be  certain  to  excite  suspicion,  which 
would  reach  the  secret  agents  of  the  British  Government, 
and  lead  either  to  a  protest  addressed  to  the  German 
authorities,  followed  by  a  prohibition  on  shipping  the  arms, 
or  to  confiscation  by  the  British  authorities  when  the  cargo 
entered  British  territorial  waters. 

These  fears  must  have  been  present  to  the  mind  of 
B.  S.  when  he  met  Crawford  at  the  station  in  Hamburg 
on  the  27th  on  his  return  from  Belfast,  for  the  precautions 
taken  to  avoid  being  followed  gave  their  movements  the 
character  of  an  adventure  by  one  of  Stanley  Weyman's 
heroes  of  romance.  Whether  any  suspicion  had  in  fact 
been  aroused  remains  unknown.  Anyhow,  the  barges 
were  ready  laden,  with  a  tug  waiting  till  the  tide  should 
serve  about  midnight  for  making  a  start  down  the  Elbe, 
and  through  the  canal  to  Kiel.  The  modest  sum  of  £10 
procured  an  order  authorising  the  tug  and  barges  to 
proceed  through  the  canal  without  stopping,  and  requiring 
other  shipping  to  let  them  pass.  A  black  flag  was  the 
signal  of  this  privileged  position,  which  suggested  the 
"  Jolly  Roger  "  to  Crawford's  thoughts,  and  gave  a  sense 
of  insolent  audacity  when  great  liners  of  ten  or  fifteen 
thousand  tons  were  seen  making  way  for  a  tug-boat 
towing  a  couple  of  lighters. 


204  A   VOYAGE   OF  ADVENTURE 

For  the  success  of  the  enterprise  up  to  this  point  Craw- 
ford was  greatly  indebted  to  the  Jew,  B.  S.  From  first 
to  last  this  gentleman  "  played  the  game  "  with  sterling 
honesty  and  straightforward  dealing  that  won  his  cus- 
tomers' warm  admiration.  Several  times  he  accepted 
Crawford's  word  as  sufficient  security  when  cash  was  not 
immediately  forthcoming,  and  in  no  instance  did  he  bear 
out  the  character  traditionally  attributed  to  his  race. 

On  arrival  at  Kiel,  Crawford,  after  a  short  absence  from 
the  tug,  was  informed  that  three  men  had  been  inquiring 
from  the  lightermen  and  the  tug's  skipper  about  the 
nature  and  destination  of  the  cargo.  All  such  evidences 
of  curiosity  on  the  subject  were  rather  alarming,  but  it 
turned  out  that  the  visitors  were  probably  Mexicans — of 
what  political  party  there  it  would  be  impossible  to  guess 
— whose  interest  had  been  aroused  by  the  rumour,  which 
Crawford  had  encouraged,  that  guns  were  being  shipped 
to  that  distracted  Republic.  Still  more  alarming  was  the 
arrival  on  board  the  tug  of  a  German  official  in  resplendent 
uniform,  who  insisted  that  he  must  inspect  the  cargo. 
Crawford  knew  no  German,  but  the  shipping  agent  who 
accompanied  him  produced  papers  showing  that  all 
formalities  had  been  complied  with,  and  all  requisite 
authorisation  obtained.  Neither  official  papers,  however, 
nor  arguments  made  any  impression  on  the  officer  until 
it  occurred  to  Crawford  to  produce  a  100-marks  note, 
which  proved  much  more  persuasive,  and  sent  the  official 
on  his  way  rejoicing,  with  expressions  of  civility  on  both 
sides. 

The  relief  of  the  Ulsterman  when  the  last  of  the  Kiel 
forts  was  left  behind,  and  he  knew  that  his  cargo  was  clear 
of  Germany,  may  be  imagined.  A  night  was  spent  crossing 
Kiel  Bay,  and  in  the  morning  of  the  29th  they  were  close 
to  Langeland,  and  approaching  the  rendezvous  with  the 
Fanny.  She  was  there  waiting,  and  Agnew,  in  obedience 
to  orders,  had  already  painted  out  her  name  on  bows  and 
stern.  The  next  thing  was  to  transfer  the  arms  from  the 
lighters  to  the  Fanny.  Crawford  was  apprehensive  lest 
the  Danish  authorities  should  take  an  interest  in  the 
proceedings  if  the  work  was  carried  out  in  the  narrow 


1914]  AN  ALARMING   INTERRUPTION  205 

channel  between  the  islands,  and  he  proposed,  as  it  was 
quite  calm,  to  defer  operations  till  they  were  further  from 
the  shore.  But  the  Norwegian  Captain  declared  that  he 
had  often  transhipped  cargo  at  this  spot,  and  that  there 
was  no  danger  whatever.  Nevertheless,  Crawford's  fears 
were  realised.  Before  the  work  was  half  finished  a  Danish 
Port  Officer  came  on  board,  asked  what  the  cargo  com- 
prised, and  demanded  to  see  the  ship's  papers.  According 
to  the  manifest  the  Fanny  was  bound  for  Iceland  with  a 
general  cargo,  part  of  which  was  to  be  shipped  at  Bergen. 
The  Danish  officer  then  spent  half  an  hour  examining  the 
bales,  and,  although  he  did  not  open  any  of  them,  Crawford 
felt  no  doubt  he  knew  perfectly  the  nature  of  their 
contents.  Finally  he  insisted  on  carrying  off  the  papers, 
both  of  the  Fanny  and  the  tug-boat,  saying  that  all  the 
information  must  be  forwarded  to  Copenhagen  to  be  dealt 
with  by  the  Government  authorities,  but  that  the  papers 
would  be  returned  early  next  morning. 

One  can  well  believe  Crawford  when  he  says  that  he 
suffered  "  mental  agony  "  that  night.  After  all  that  he 
had  planned,  and  all  that  he  had  accomplished  by  many 
months  of  personal  energy  and  resource,  he  saw  complete 
and  ignominious  failure  staring  him  in  the  face.  He 
realised  the  heavy  financial  loss  to  the  Ulster  Loyalists, 
for  his  cargo  represented  about  £70,000  of  their  money  ; 
and  he  realised  the  bitter  disappointment  of  their  hopes, 
which  was  far  worse  than  any  loss  of  money.  He  pictured 
to  himself  what  must  happen  in  the  morning—"  to  have 
to  follow  a  torpedo-boat  into  the  naval  base  and  lie  there 
till  the  whole  Ulster  scheme  was  unravelled  and  known  to 
the  world  as  a  ghastly  failure,  and  the  Province  and  Sir 
Edward  and  all  the  leaders  the  laughing  stock  of  the 
world  " — and  the  thought  of  it  all  plunged  him  almost 
into  despair. 

Almost,  but  not  quite.  He  was  not  the  man  to  give 
way  to  despair.  If  it  came  to  the  worst  he  would  "  put  all 
the  foreign  crew  and  their  belongings  into  the  boats  and 
send  them  off  ;  Agnew  and  I  would  arm  ourselves  with 
a  bundle  of  rifles,  and  cut  it  open  and  have  500  rounds 
to  fight  any  attempt  to  board  us,  and  if  we  slipped  this 


206  A   VOYAGE   OF   ADVENTURE 

by  any  chance,  he  and  I  would  bring  her  to  England 
together,  he  on  deck  and  I  in  the  engine-room.  He  knew 
all  about  navigation  and  I  knew  all  about  engines,  having 
been  a  marine  engineer  in  my  youth." 

But  a  less  desperate  job  called  for  immediate  attention. 
The  men  engaged  in  transferring  the  cargo  from  the 
barges  to  the  steamer  wanted  to  knock  off  work  for  the 
night ;  but  the  offer  of  double  pay  persuaded  them  to 
stick  to  it,  and  they  worked  with  such  good  will  that  by 
midnight  every  bale  was  safely  below  hatches  in  the  Fanny. 
Crawford  then  instructed  the  shipping  agent  to  be  off  in 
the  tug  at  break  of  day,  giving  him  letters  to  post  which 
would  apprise  the  Committee  in  Belfast  of  what  had 
happened,  and  give  them  the  means  of  communicating 
with  himself  according  to  previously  concerted  plans. 

Before  morning  a  change  occurred  in  the  weather, 
which  Crawford  regarded  as  providential.  He  was  glad- 
dened by  the  sight  of  a  sea  churned  white  by  half  a 
gale,  while  a  mist  lay  on  the  water,  reducing  visibility  to 
about  300  yards.  It  would  be  impossible  for  the  Port 
Officer's  motor-boat  to  face  such  a  sea,  or,  if  it  did,  to  find 
the  Fanny,  unless  guided  by  her  fog-whistle.  As  soon  as 
eight  o'clock  had  passed — the  hour  by  which  the  return 
of  the  ship's  papers  had  been  promised — Crawford  weighed 
anchor,  and  crept  out  of  the  narrow  channel  under  cover 
of  the  fog,  only  narrowly  escaping  going  aground  on  the 
way  among  the  banks  and  shallows  that  made  it  impossible 
to  sail  before  daylight,  but  eventually  the  open  sea  was 
safely  reached.  But  the  Fanny  was  now  without  papers, 
and  in  law  was  a  pirate  ship.  It  was  therefore  desirable 
for  her  to  change  her  costume.  As  many  hands  as 
possible  were  turned  to  the  task  of  giving  a  new  colour 
to  the  funnel  and  making  some  other  effective  alterations 
in  her  appearance,  including  a  new  name  on  her  bows  and 
stern.  Thus  renovated,  and  after  a  delay  of  some  days, 
caused  by  trifling  mishaps,  she  left  the  Cattegat  behind 
and  steered  a  course  for  British  waters. 

The  original  plan  had  been  to  set  a  course  for  Iceland, 
and,  when  north  of  the  Shetlands,  to  turn  to  the  southward 
to  Lough  Laxford,  the  agreed  rendezvous  with  Spender. 


1914]  A   NARROW    ESCAPE  207 

But  the  incident  at  Langeland,  which  had  made  the  Danish 
authorities  suspect  illegal  traffic  with  Iceland,  made  a 
change  of  plan  imperative.  Before  leaving  Danish  waters 
Crawford  tried  to  communicate  this  change  to  Belfast. 
But,  meantime,  information  had  reached  Belfast  of  certain 
measures  being  taken  by  the  Government,  and  Spender, 
hoping  to  catch  Crawford  before  he  left  Kiel,  went  to 
Dublin  to  telegraph  from  there.  In  Dublin  he  was 
dismayed  to  read  in  the  newspapers  that  a  mysterious 
vessel  called  the  Fanny,  said  to  be  carrying  arms  for 
Ulster,  had  been  captured  by  the  Danish  authorities  in 
the  Baltic.  For  several  days  no  further  news  reached 
Belfast,  where  it  was  assumed  that  the  whole  enterprise 
had  failed  ;  and  then  a  code  message  informed  the  Com- 
mittee that  Crawford  was  in  London. 

Spender  at  once  went  over  to  see  him,  in  order  to  warn 
him  not  to  bring  the  arms  to  Ireland  for  the  present. 
He  was  to  take  them  back  to  Hamburg,  or  throw  them 
overboard,  or  sink  the  Fanny  and  take  to  her  boats, 
according  to  circumstances.  But  in  London,  instead  of 
Crawford,  Spender  found  the  Hamburg  skipper  and 
packer,  who  told  him  of  Crawford's  escape  from  Lange- 
land with  the  loss  of  the  ship's  papers.  Spender,  knowing 
nothing  of  Crawford's  change  of  plan,  and  anxious  to 
convey  to  him  the  latest  instructions,  went  off  on  a  wild- 
goose  chase  to  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  where  he  spent 
the  best  part  of  an  unhappy  week  watching  the  waves 
tumbling  in  Lough  Laxford,  and  looking  as  anxiously  as 
Tristan  for  the  expected  ship. 

Meantime  the  Fanny  had  crossed  the  North  Sea,  and 
Crawford  sent  Agnew  ashore  at  Yarmouth  on  the  7th  of 
April  with  orders  to  hurry  to  Belfast,  where  he  was  to 
procure  another  steamer  and  bring  it  to  a  rendezvous  at 
Lundy  Island,  in  the  Bristol  Channel.  Crawford  himself, 
having  rechristened  the  Fanny  for  the  second  time  (this 
time  the  Doreen),  proceeded  down  the  English  Channel, 
where  he  had  a  rather  adventurous  cruise  in  a  gale  of 
wind.  He  kept  close  to  the  French  coast,  to  avoid  any 
unwelcome  attentions  in  British  waters,  but  on  the  way 
had  an  attack  of  malaria,  which  the  Captain  thought  so 


208  A   VOYAGE  OF   ADVENTURE 

grave  that,  no  doubt  with  the  most  humane  motives,  he 
declared  his  intention  of  putting  Crawford  ashore  at 
Dunkirk  to  save  his  Hfe,  a  design  which  no  persuasion 
short  of  Crawford's  handling  of  his  revolver  in  true  pirate 
fashion  would  make  the  Norwegian  abandon. 

In  the  heavy  seas  of  the  Channel  the  Doreen  could  not 
make  more  than  four  knots,  and  she  was  consequently 
twenty-four  hours  late  for  the  rendezvous  with  Agnew  at 
Lundy,  where  she  arrived  on  the  11th  of  April.  The 
Bristol  Channel  seemed  to  swarm  with  pilot  boats  eager  to 
be  of  service,  whose  inquisitive  and  expert  eyes  were 
anything  but  welcome  to  the  custodian  of  Ulster's  rifles  ; 
and  to  his  highly  strung  imagination  every  movement  of 
every  trawler  appeared  to  betoken  suspicion.  And,  indeed, 
they  were  not  without  excuse  for  curiosity  ;  for,  a  foreign 
steamer  whose  course  seemed  indeterminate,  now  making 
for  Cardiff  and  now  for  St.  Ives,  observed  at  one  time 
north-east  of  Lundy  and  a  few  hours  later  south  of  the 
island — a  tramp,  in  fact,  that  was  obviously  "  loitering  " 
with  no  ascertainable  destination,  was  enough  to  keep 
telescopes  to  the  eyes  of  Devon  pilots  and  fisher-folk,  and 
to  set  their  tongues  wagging.  But  there  was  no  help  for 
it.  Crawford  could  not  leave  the  rendezvous  till  Agnew 
arrived,  and  was  forced  to  wander  round  Lundy  and  up 
and  down  the  Bristol  Channel  for  two  days  and  nights, 
until,  at  5  a.m.  on  Monday  morning,  the  13th  of  April, 
a  signal  from  a  passing  steamer,  the  Balmerino,  gave  the 
welcome  tidings  that  Agnew  was  on  board  and  was  pro- 
ceeding to  sea. 

When  the  two  steamers  were  sufficiently  far  from  Lundy 
lighthouse  and  other  prying  eyes  to  make  friendly  inter- 
course safe,  Agnew  came  on  board  the  Doreen,  bringing 
with  him  another  North  Irish  seaman  whom  he  introduced 
to  Crawford.  This  man  handed  to  Crawford  a  paper  he 
had  brought  from  Belfast.  It  was  typewritten  ;  it  bore 
no  address  and  no  signature  ;  it  was  no  doubt  a  duplicate 
of  what  Spender  had  taken  to  the  Highlands,  for  its  purport, 
as  given  by  Crawford  from  memory,  was  to  the  following 
effect :  "  Owing  to  great  changes  since  you  left,  and 
altered  circumstances,  the  Committee  think  it  would  be 


1914]  RENDEZVOUS   AT   LUNDY  209 

unwise  to  bring  the  cargo  here  at  present,  and  instruct  you 
to  proceed  to  the  Baltic  and  cruise  there  for  three  months, 
keeping  in  touch  with  the  Committee,  or  else  to  store  the 
goods  at  Hamburg  till  required." 

The  "  great  changes  "  referred  to  were  the  operations 
that  led  to  the  Curragh  incident,  the  story  of  which  Craw- 
ford now  learnt  from  Agnew.     The  presence  of  the  fleet  at 
Lamlash,  and  of  destroyers  off  Carrickfergus,  was  enough 
to  make  the  Committee  deem  it  an  inopportune  moment  for 
Crawford  to  bring  his  goods  to  Belfast  Lough.     But  the 
latter  was  hardly  in  a  condition  to  appreciate  the  gravity 
of  the  situation,   and  the  indignation  which  the  missive 
aroused   in   him   is   intelligible.     After   all   he   had   come 
through,  the  ups  and  downs,  dangers  and    escapes — far 
more  varied  than  have  been  here  recorded — the  disappoint- 
ment at  being  ordered  back  was  cruel ;   and  in  his  eyes  such 
instructions  were  despicably  pusillanimous.     The  caution 
that    had    prompted    his  instructors    to    leave   the    order 
unsigned  moved  him  to  contempt,  and  in  his  wrath  he  was 
confident  that  "  the  Chief  at  any  rate  had  nothing  to  do 
with  it."     He  told  the  messenger  that  he  did  not  know 
who  had  sent  the  paper,  and  did  not  want  to  know,  and 
instructed  him  to  take  it  back  and  inform  the  senders  that, 
as  it  bore  no  signature,  no  date,  no  address,  and  no  official 
stamp,  he  declined  to  recognise  it  and  refused  to  obey  it ; 
and,    further,    that   unless    he   received    within    six    days 
properly  authenticated  instructions  for  delivering  his  cargo, 
he  would  run  his  ship  ashore  at  high  water  in  the  County 
Down,  and  let  the  Ulstermen  salve  as  much  as  they  could 
when  the  tide  ebbed. 

But  Crawford  determined  to  make  another  effort  first 
to  accomplish  his  task  by  less  desperate  methods.  He 
therefore  decided  to  accompany  the  messenger  back  to 
Belfast.  The  Doreen,  late  Fanny,  was  too  foreign-looking 
to  pass  unchallenged  up  Belfast  Lough,  but  he  believed 
that  if  the  cargo  could  be  transhipped  to  a  vessel  known  to 
all  watchers  on  the  North  Irish  coast,  a  policy  of  audacity 
would  have  a  good  chance  of  success.  The  s.s.  Bal- 
merino,  which  had  brought  Agnew  and  the  messenger  to 
Lundy,  was  such  a  vessel ;   her  owner,  Mr.  Sam  Kelly,  was 


210  A   VOYAGE   OF   ADVENTURE 

an  intimate  friend  of  Crawford's  ;  and  if  he  could  see  Kelly 
the  matter,  he  hoped,  might  be  quickly  arranged.  The 
reliance  which  Crawford  placed  in  Mr.  Sam  Kelly  was  fully 
justified,  for  the  assistance  rendered  by  this  gentleman  was 
essential  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  He  it  was  who 
freely  supplied  two  steamers,  with  cre%vs  and  stevedores, 
thereby  enabling  the  last  part  of  this  adventurous  voyage 
to  be  carried  through  ;  and  the  willingness  with  which 
Mr.  Kelly  risked  financial  loss,  and  much  besides,  placed 
Ulster  under  an  obligation  to  him  for  which  he  sought  no 
recompense. 

Crawford  accordingly  went  off  in  the  Balmerino,  landed 
in  South  Wales  on  Tuesday,  the  14th  of  April,  and  hastened 
by  the  quickest  route  to  Belfast.  Agnew  took  charge  of  the 
Doreen,  with  instructions  to  be  at  the  Tuskar  Light,  on  the 
Wexford  coast,  on  the  following  Friday  night,  the  17th,  and 
to  return  there  every  night  until  Crawford  rejoined  him. 
A  friend  of  Crawford's,  Mr.  Richard  Cowser,  with  whom  he 
had  a  conversation  on  the  telephone  from  Dublin,  met  him 
at  the  railway-station  in  Belfast  and  told  him  that  he  had 
a  motor  waiting  to  take  him  to  Craigavon,  where  the 
Council  was  expecting  him,  and  that  he  would  see  Mr.  Sam 
Kelly,  the  owner  of  the  Balmerino,  there  also.  This  news 
made  Crawford  very  angry.  He  accused  his  friend  of 
breach  of  confidence  in  letting  anyone  know  that  he  was 
coming  to  Belfast ;  he  declared  he  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  Council  after  the  unsigned  orders  he  had  re- 
ceived at  Lundy  ;  and  he  besought  his  friend  to  take  his 
car  to  Craigavon  and  bring  back  Kelly,  repeating  his 
determination  to  bring  in  his  cargo,  even  if  he  had  to  run 
his  ship  ashore  to  do  so.  Mr.  Cowser  replied  that  this 
would  be  very  disappointing  to  Sir  Edward  Carson,  who 
was  waiting  for  Crawford  at  Craigavon,  having  come  from 
London  on  purpose  for  this  Council  Meeting.  "  What !  " 
exclaimed  Crawford,  "  is  Sir  Edward  there  ?  Why  did 
you  not  say  so  at  once  ?  Where  is  your  car  ?  Let  us  waste 
no  time  till  I  see  the  Chief  and  report  to  him." 

That  evening  of  the  14th  of  April,  at  Craigavon,  was  a 
memorable  one  for  all  who  were  present  at  the  meeting. 
Carson  invited  Crawford  to  relate  all  he  had  done,  and  to 


1914]  CRAWFORD   AND   COUNCIL  211 

explain  how  he  proposed  to  proceed.  The  latter  did  not 
mince  matters  in  saying  what  he  thought  of  the  Lundy 
instructions,  which  he  again  declared  angrily  he  intended 
to  disobey.  When  he  had  finished  his  narrative  and  his 
protestations  against  what  he  considered  a  cowardly  policy 
— a  policy  that  would  deprive  Ulster  of  succour  as  sorely 
needed  as  Derry  needed  the  Mountjoy  to  break  the  boom — ■ 
Carson  put  a  few  questions  to  him  in  regard  to  the  feasi- 
bility of  his  plans.  Cra^\d^ord  explained  the  advantage  it 
would  be  to  transfer  the  cargo  from  the  Fanny  to  a  local 
steamer,  which  he  felt  confident  he  could  bring  into  Larne, 
and  after  the  transhipment  he  would  send  the  Fanny 
straight  back  to  the  Baltic,  where  she  could  settle  her 
account  with  the  Danish  authorities  and  recover  her 
papers. 

Some  members  of  the  Council  were  sceptical  about  the 
possibility  of  transhipping  the  cargo  at  sea,  but  Crawford, 
who  had  fully  discussed  it  with  Agnew,  believed  that  if 
favoured  by  calm  weather  it  could  be  done.  When 
Carson,  after  hearing  all  that  was  to  be  said  on  both  sides 
in  the  long  debate  between  Fabius  and  Hotspur,  finally 
supported  the  latter,  the  question  was  decided.  There  was 
no  split — there  never  was  in  these  deliberations  in  Ulster  ; 
those  whose  judgment  was  overruled  always  supported 
loyally  the  policy  decided  upon. 

Immediate  measures  were  then  taken  to  give  effect  to 
the  decision.  Kelly  knew  of  a  suitable  craft,  the  s.s. 
Clydevalley,  for  sale  at  that  moment  in  Glasgow,  which 
would  be  in  Belfast  next  morning  with  a  cargo  of  coal. 
This  was  providential.  A  collier  familiar  to  every  long- 
shoreman in  Belfast  Lough,  carrying  on  her  usual  trade 
this  week,  could  hardly  be  suspected  of  carrying  rifles  when 
she  returned  next  week  ostensibly  in  the  same  line  of  busi- 
ness. It  was  settled  that  Crawford  should  cross  to  Glasgow 
at  once  and  buy  her  ;  the  steamer,  when  bought,  was  to  go 
from  Belfast  to  Llandudno,  where  she  would  pick  up 
Crawford  on  the  sands,  and  proceed  to  keep  the  rendezvous 
with  Agnew  at  the  Tuskar  Light  on  Friday  ;  and,  after 
taking  over  the  Fanny's  cargo,  would  then  steam  boldly 
up  Belfast  Lough  and  through  the  Musgrave  Channel  to 


212  A  VOYAGE   OF  ADVENTURE 

the  Belfast  docks,  where  he  undertook  to  arrive  on  the 
Friday  week,  the  24th  of  April,  the  various  proposals 
which  named  Larne,  Bangor,  and  Donaghadee  as  ports  of 
discharge  having  all  been  rejected  after  full  discussion. 
This  last  decision  was  not  approved  by  Crawford,  for  he  and 
Spender  had  long  before  this  time  agreed  that  Larne 
harbour  was  the  proper  place  to  land  the  arms,  both  because 
the  large  number  of  country  roads  leading  to  it  would 
facilitate  rapid  distribution,  and  because  it  would  be  more 
difficult  for  the  authorities  to  interfere  with  the  disem- 
barkation there  than  at  any  of  the  other  ports. 

Before  parting  from  the  Council  Crawford  made  it  quite 
clear  that  during  the  remainder  of  the  adventure  he  would 
recognise  no  orders  of  any  kind  unless  they  bore  the  auto- 
graph signature  of  Sir  Edward  Carson.  On  this  under- 
standing he  set  out  for  Glasgow,  bought  the  Clydevalleyy 
and  went  by  train  to  Llandudno  to  await  her  arrival. 
These  affairs  had  left  very  little  margin  of  time  to  spare. 
The  Clydevalley  could  not  be  at  Llandudno  before  the 
morning  of  the  17th,  and  Agnew  would  be  looking  for  her 
at  the  Tuskar  the  same  evening.  As  it  actually  turned  out 
she  only  arrived  at  the  Welsh  watering-place  late  that  night, 
and,  after  picking  up  Crawford,  who  had  spent  an  anxious 
day  on  the  beach,  arrived  off  the  Wexford  coast  at  day- 
break on  Saturday,  the  18th.  Not  a  sign  of  the  Fanny 
was  to  be  seen  all  that  day,  or  the  following  night ;  and 
when  the  skipper  of  the  Clydevalley,  who  had  been  on  the 
Balmerino  and  was  privy  to  the  arrangements  with  Agnew, 
gave  Crawford  reason  to  think  there  might  have  been  a 
misunderstanding  as  to  the  rendezvous,  Yarmouth  having 
been  also  mentioned  in  that  connection,  Crawford  was  in  a 
condition  almost  of  desperation. 

It  was,  indeed,  a  situation  to  test  the  nerves,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  temper,  of  even  the  most  resolute.  It  was 
Sunday,  and  Crawford  had  undertaken  to  be  at  Copeland 
Island,  at  the  mouth  of  Belfast  Lough,  on  Friday  evening 
for  final  landing  instructions.  The  precious  cargo,  which 
had  passed  safely  through  so  many  hazards,  had  vanished 
and  was  he  knew  not  where.  He  had  heard  nothing  of  the 
Fanny  (or  Doreen)  since  he  landed  at  Tenby  five  days 


1914]      DISAPPEARANCE  OF  THE   "FANNY"  213 

previously.  Had  she  been  captured  by  a  destroyer  from 
Pembroke,  or  overhauled,  pirate  as  she  was  without  papers, 
by  Customs  officials  from  Rosslare  ?  Or  had  Agnew  mis- 
taken his  instructions,  and  risked  all  the  dangers  of  the 
English  Channel  in  a  fruitless  voyage  to  Yarmouth,  where, 
even  if  still  undetected,  the  Fanny  would  be  too  far  away 
to  reach  Copeland  by  Friday,  unless  Agnew  could  be 
communicated  with  at  once  ? 

There  was  only  one  way  in  which  such  communication 
could  be  managed,  and  that  way  Crawford  now  took  with 
characteristic  promptitude  and  energy.  The  Clydevalley 
crossed  the  Irish  Sea  to  Fishguard,  where  he  took  train  on 
Sunday  night  to  London  and  Yarmouth,  having  first  made 
arrangements  with  the  skipper  for  keeping  in  touch.  But 
there  was  no  trace  of  the  Fanny  at  Yarmouth,  and  no  word 
from  Agnew  at  the  Post  Office.  There  appeared  to  be  no 
solution  of  the  problem,  and  every  precious  hour  that 
slipped  away  made  ultimate  failure  more  menacing.  But 
at  two  o'clock  the  outlook  entirely  changed.  A  second 
visit  to  the  Post  Office  was  rewarded  by  a  telegram  in  code 
from  Agnew  saying  all  was  well,  and  that  he  would  be  at 
Holyhead  to  pick  up  Crawford  on  Tuesday  evening.  There 
was  just  time  to  catch  a  London  train  that  arrived  in  time 
for  the  Irish  mail  from  Euston.  On  Tuesday  morning 
Crawford  was  pacing  the  breakwater  at  Holyhead,  and  a 
few  hours  later  he  was  discussing  matters  with  Agnew  in 
the  little  cabin  of  the  Clydevalley. 

The  latter  had  amply  made  up  for  the  loss  of  time  caused 
by  some  misunderstanding  as  to  the  rendezvous  at  the 
Tuskar,  for  he  was  able  to  show  Crawford,  to  his  intense 
delight,  that  the  cargo  had  all  been  safely  and  successfully 
transferred  to  the  hold  of  the  Clydevalley  in  a  bay  on  the 
Welsh  coast,  mainly  at  night.  Some  sixteen  transport 
labourers  from  Belfast,  willing  Ulster  hands,  had  shifted 
the  stuff  in  less  than  half  the  time  taken  by  Germans  at 
Langeland  over  the  same  job.  There  was,  therefore, 
nothing  more  to  be  done  except  to  steam  leisurely  to  Cope- 
land,  for  which  there  was  ample  time  before  Friday  evening. 
The  Fanny  had  departed  to  an  appointed  rendezvous  on 
the  Baltic  coast  of  Denmark. 


214  A   VOYAGE   OF  ADVENTURE 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  Clydevdlley  to  yield  up  her 
obscure  identity,  and  to  assume  an  historic  name  appro- 
priate to  the  adventure  she  was  bringing  to  a  triumphant 
chmax — a  name  of  good  omen  in  Ulster  ears.  Strips  of 
canvas,  6  feet  long,  were  cut  and  painted  with  white  letters 
on  a  black  ground,  and  affixed  to  bows  and  stern,  so  that 
the  men  waiting  at  Copeland  might  hail  the  arrival  of  the 
Mountjoy  II. 

Off  Copeland  Island  a  small  vessel  was  waiting,  which 
Agnew  recognised  as  a  tender  belonging  to  Messrs.  Work- 
man &  Clark.  The  men  on  board,  as  soon  as  they  could 
make  out  the  name  of  the  approaching  vessel,  understood 
at  once,  and  raised  a  ringing  cheer.  Two  of  them  were 
seen  gesticulating  and  hailing  the  Mountjoy.  Crawford, 
suspecting  fresh  orders  to  retreat,  paid  no  attention,  and 
told  Agnew  to  hold  on  his  course  ;  and  even  when  presently 
he  was  able  to  recognise  Mr.  Cowser  and  Mr.  Dawson  Bates 
on  board  the  tender,  and  to  hear  them  shouting  that  they 
had  important  instructions  for  him,  he  still  refused  to  let 
them  come  on  board.  "  If  the  orders  are  not  signed  by 
Sir  Edward  Carson,"  he  shouted  back,  "  you  can  take 
them  back  to  where  they  came  from."  But  the  orders 
they  brought  had  been  signed  by  the  leader,  a  special 
messenger  having  been  sent  to  London  to  obtain  his  signa- 
ture, and  the  change  of  plan  they  indicated  was,  in  fact, 
just  what  Crawford  desired.  The  bulk  of  the  arms  were 
to  be  landed  at  Larne,  the  port  he  had  always  favoured, 
and  lesser  quantities  were  to  be  taken  to  Bangor  and 
Donaghadee. 

It  was  10.30  that  night,  the  24th  of  April  1914,  when  the 
Mountjoy  II  steamed  alongside  the  landing-stage  at  Larne, 
where  she  had  been  eagerly  awaited  for  a  couple  of  hours. 
The  voyage  of  adventure  was  over.  Fred  Crawford, 
M'ith  the  able  and  zealous  help  of  Andrew  Agnew,  had 
accomplished  the  difficult  and  dangerous  task  he  had 
undertaken,  and  a  service  had  been  rendered  to  Ulster  not 
unworthy  to  rank  beside  the  breaking  of  the  boom  across 
the  Foyle  by  the  first  and  more  renowned  Mountjoy. 


CHAPTER    XTX 

ON   THE   BRINK   OF   CIVIL   WAR 

The  arrangements  that  had  been  made  for  the  landing  and 
disposal  of  the  arms  when  they  arrived  in  port  were  the 
work  of  an  extremely  efficient  and  complete  organisation. 
In  the  previous  summer  Captain  Spender,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, had  been  appointed  to  a  position  on  Sir  George 
Richardson's  staff  which  included  in  its  duties  that  of 
the  organisation  of  transport.  A  railway  board,  a  supply 
board,  and  a  transport  board  had  been  formed,  on  which 
leading  business  men  willingly  served  ;  every  U.V.F.  unit 
had  its  horse  transport,  and  in  addition  a  special  motor 
corps,  organised  in  squadrons,  and  a  special  corps  of  motor- 
lorries  were  formed. 

More  than  half  the  owners  of  motor-cars  in  Ulster  placed 
their  cars  at  the  disposal  of  the  motor  corps,  to  be  used  as 
and  when  required.  The  corps  was  organised  in  sections 
of  four  cars  each,  and  in  squadrons  of  seventeen  cars  each, 
with  motor  cyclist  despatch-riders  ;  a  signalling  corps  of 
despatch-riders  and  signallers  completed  the  organisation. 
The  lively  interest  aroused  by  the  practice  and  displays  of 
the  last-mentioned  corps  did  much  to  promote  the  high 
standard  of  proficiency  attained  by  its  "  flag-waggers," 
many  of  whom  were  women  and  girls.  In  particular  the 
signalling-station  at  Bangor  gained  a  reputation  which 
attracted  many  English  sympathisers  with  Ulster  to  pay  it 
a  visit  when  they  came  to  Belfast  for  the  great  Unionist 
demonstrations. 

The  despatch-riders  on  motor-cycles  made  the  Ulster 
Council  independent  of  the  Post  Office,  which  for  very  good 
reasons  they  used  as  little  as  possible.  Post-houses  were 
opened  at  all  the  most  important  centres  in  Ulster,  between 
which  messages  were  transmitted  by  despatch-rider  or 
15  215 


216  ON   THE  BRINK  OF  CIVIL  WAR 

signal  according  to  the  nature  of  the  intervening  country. 
Along  the  coast  of  Down  and  Antrim  the  organisation  of 
signals  was  complete  and  effective.  The  usefulness  of  the 
despatch-riders'  corps  was  fully  tested  and  proved  during 
the  Curragh  Incident,  when  news  of  all  that  was  taking 
place  at  the  Curragh  was  received  by  this  means  two  or 
three  times  a  day  at  the  Old  Town  Hall  in  Belfast,  where 
there  was  much  information  of  what  was  going  on  that  was 
unknown  at  the  Irish  Office  in  London. 

All  this  organisation  was  at  the  disposal  of  the  leaders 
for  handling  the  arms  brought  in  the  hold  of  the  Mountjoy 
II.  The  perfection  of  the  arrangements  for  the  immediate 
distribution  of  the  rifles  and  ammunition  among  the  loyalist 
population,  and  the  almost  miraculous  precision  with 
which  they  were  carried  out  on  that  memorable  Friday 
night,  extorted  the  admiration  even  of  the  most  inveterate 
political  enemies  of  Ulster.  The  smoothness  with  which 
the  machinery  of  organisation  worked  was  only  possible  on 
account  of  the  hearty  willingness  of  all  the  workers,  coin- 
bined  with  the  discipline  to  which  they  gladly  submitted 
themselves. 

The  whole  U.V.F.  was  warned  for  a  trial  mobilisation  on 
the  evening  of  the  24th  of  April,  and  the  owners  of  all 
motor-cars  and  lorries  were  requested  to  co-operate.  Very 
few  either  of  the  Volunteers  or  the  motor  owners  knew 
that  anj^thing  more  than  manoeuvres  by  night  for  practice 
purposes  was  to  take  place.  All  motors  from  certain 
specified  districts  were  ordered  to  be  at  Larne  by  8  o'clock 
in  the  evening  ;  from  other  districts  the  vehicles  were  to 
assemble  at  Bangor  and  Donaghadee  respectively,  at  a 
later  hour.  All  the  roads  leading  to  these  ports  were 
patrolled  by  volunteers,  and  at  every  cross-roads  over  the 
greater  part  of  nine  counties  men  of  the  local  battalions 
were  stationed  to  give  directions  to  motor-drivers  who 
might  not  be  familiar  with  the  roads.  At  certain  points 
these  men  were  provided  with  reserve  supplies  of  petrol, 
and  with  repairing  tools  that  might  be  needed  in  case  of 
breakdown.  It  is  a  remarkable  testimony  to  the  zeal  of 
these  men  for  the  cause  that,  although  none  of  them  knew 
he  was  taking  part  in  an  exciting  adventure,  not  one,  so 


1914]  A  CLEVER   STRATAGEM  217 

far  as  is  known,  left  his  post  throughout  a  cold  and  wet 
night,  having  received  orders  not  to  go  home  till  daybreak. 
And  these  were  men,  it  must  be  remembered,  who  before 
putting  on  the  felt  hats,  puttees,  and  bandoliers  which 
constituted  their  uniform,  had  already  done  a  full  day's 
work,  and  were  not  to  receive  a  sixpence  for  their  night's 
job. 

At  the  three  ports  of  discharge  large  forces  of  volunteers 
were  concentrated.  Sir  George  Richardson,  G.O.C.  in  C., 
remained  in  Belfast  through  the  night,  being  kept  fully 
and  constantly  informed  of  the  progress  of  events  by  signal 
and  motor-cyclist  despatch-riders.  Captain  James  Craig 
was  in  charge  of  the  operations  at  Bangor ;  at  Larne 
General  Sir  William  Adair  was  in  command,  with  Captain 
Spender  as  Staff  officer. 

The  attention  of  the  Customs  authorities  in  Belfast  was 
diverted  by  a  clever  stratagem.     A  tramp  steamer  was 
brought  up  the  Musgrave  Channel  after  dark,  her  conduct 
being  as  furtive  and  suspicious  as  it  was  possible  to  make  it 
appear.     At  the  same  time  a  large  wagon  was  brought  to 
the  docks  as  if  awaiting  a  load.     The  skipper  of  the  tramp 
took   an  unconscionable   time,   by   skilful   blundering,   in 
bringing  his  craft  to  her  moorings.     The  suspicions  of  the 
authorities  were  successfully  aroused  ;    but  every  possible 
hindrance  was  put  in  their  way  when  they  began  to  in- 
vestigate.    The  hour  was  too  late  :  could  they  not  wait 
till  daylight  ?     No  ?    Well,  then,  what  was  their  authority  ? 
When  that  was  settled,  it  appeared  that  the  skipper  had 
mislaid  his  keys  and  could  not  produce  the  ship's  papers 
— and  so  on.     By  these  devices  the  belief  of  the  officers 
that  they  had  caught  the  offender  they  were  after  was 
increasingly  confirmed  every  minute,  while  several  hours 
passed  before  they  were  allowed  to  realise  that  they  had 
discovered  a  mare's-nest.     For  when  at  last  they  "  would 
stand  no  more  nonsense,"  and  had  the  hatches  opened  and 
the  papers  produced,  the  latter  were  quite  in  order,  and  the 
cargo — which  they  wasted  a  little  additional  time  in  turning 
over — contained  nothing  but  coal. 

Meantime  the  real  business  was  proceeding  twenty  miles 
away.    All  communications  by  wire  from  the  three  ports 


218  ON   THE   BRINK  OF   CIVIL   WAR 

were  blocked  by  "  earthing  "  the  wires,  so  as  to  cause  short 
circuit.  The  pohce  and  coast-guards  were  "  peacefully 
picketed,"  as  trade  unionists  would  call  it,  in  their  various 
barracks — they  were  shut  in  and  strongly  guarded.  No 
conflict  took  place  anywhere  between  the  authorities  and 
the  volunteers,  and  the  only  casualty  of  any  kind  was  the 
unfortunate  death  of  one  coast-guardsman  from  heart 
disease  at  Donaghadee. 

At  Larne,  where  much  the  largest  portion  of  the  Mount- 
joy^s  cargo  was  landed,  a  triple  cordon  of  Volunteers 
surrounded  the  town  and  harbour,  and  no  one  without  a 
pass  was  allowed  through.  The  motors  arrived  with  a 
piinctuality  that  was  wonderful,  considering  that  many  of 
them  had  come  from  long  distances.  As  the  drivers 
arrived  near  the  town  and  found  themselves  in  an  ap- 
parently endless  procession  of  similar  vehicles,  their 
astonishment  and  excitement  became  intense.  Only  when 
close  to  the  harbour  did  they  learn  what  they  were  there 
for,  and  received  instructions  how  to  proceed.  They  had 
more  than  two  hours  to  wait  in  drizzling  rain  before  the 
Mountjoy  appeared  round  the  point  of  Islandmagee, 
although  her  approach  had  been  made  known  to  Spender 
by  signal  at  dusk.  There  were  about  five  hundred  motor 
vehicles  assembled  at  Larne  alone,  and  such  an  invasion  of 
flaring  head-lights  gave  the  inhabitants  of  the  little  town 
unwonted  excitement.  Practically  all  the  able-bodied 
men  of  the  place  were  either  on  duty  as  Volunteers  or  were 
willing  workers  in  the  landing  of  the  arms.  The  women 
stood  at  their  doors  and  gave  encouraging  greeting  to  the 
drivers  ;  many  of  them  ran  improvised  canteens,  which 
supplied  the  workers  with  welcome  refreshments  during 
the  night. 

There  was  a  not  unnatural  tendency  at  first  on  the  part 
of  some  of  the  motor-drivers  to  look  upon  the  event  more 
in  the  light  of  a  meet  of  hounds  than  of  the  gravest  possible 
business,  and  to  hang  about  discussing  the  adventure  with 
the  other  "  sportsmen."  But  the  use  of  vigorous  language 
brought  them  back  to  recognition  of  the  seriousness  of  the 
work  before  them,  and  the  discharge  of  the  cargo  pro- 
ceeded hour  after  hour  with  the  utmost  rapidity  and  with 


1914]  LANDING  THE   ARMS  219 

the  regularity  of  a  well-oiled  machine.  The  cars  drew  up 
beside  the  Mountjoy  in  an  endless  queue ;  each  received  its 
quota  of  bales  according  to  its  carrying  capacity,  and  was 
despatched  on  its  homeward  journey  without  a  moment's 
delay. 

The  wisdom  of  Crawford's  system  of  packing  was  fully 
vindicated.  There  was  no  confusion,  no  waiting  to  bring 
ammunition  from  one  part  of  the  ship's  hold  to  match 
with  rifles  brought  from  another,  and  bayonets  from  a 
third.  The  packages,  as  they  were  carried  from  the  steamer 
or  the  cranes,  were  counted  by  checking  clerks,  and  their 
destination  noted  as  each  car  received  its  load.  But  even 
the  large  number  of  vehicles  available  would  have  been 
insufficient  for  the  purpose  on  hand  if  each  had  been  limited 
to  a  single  load  ;  dumps  had  therefore  been  formed  at  a 
number  of  selected  places  in  the  surrounding  districts, 
where  the  arms  were  temporarily  deposited  so  as  to  allow 
the  cars  to  return  and  perform  the  same  duty  several 
times  during  the  night. 

While  the  Mountjoy  was  discharging  the  Larne  consign- 
ment on  to  the  quay,  she  was  at  the  same  time  transhipping 
a  smaller  quantity  into  a  motor-boat,  moored  against  her 
side,  which  when  laden  hurried  off  to  Donaghadee  ;  and 
she  left  Larne  at  5  in  the  morning  to  discharge  the  last 
portion  of  her  cargo  at  Bangor,  which  was  successfully 
accomplished  in  broad  daylight  after  her  arrival  there 
about  7.30. 

Crawford  refused  to  leave  the  ship  at  either  Larne  or 
Bangor,  feeling  himself  bound  in  honour  to  remain  with 
the  crew  until  they  were  safe  from  arrest  by  the  naval 
authorities.  It  was  well  known  in  Belfast  that  a  look-out 
was  being  kept  for  the  Fanny,  which  had  figured  in  the 
Press  as  "  the  mystery  ship  "  ever  since  the  affair  at  Lange- 
land,  and  had  several  times  been  reported  to  have  been 
viewed  at  all  sorts  of  odd  places  on  the  map,  from  the 
Orkneys  to  Tory  Island.  Just  as  Agnew  was  casting  off 
from  Bangor,  when  the  last  bale  of  arms  had  gone  ashore, 
a  message  from  U.V.F.  headquarters  informed  him  that 
a  thirty-knot  cruiser  was  out  looking  for  the  Fanny.  To 
mislead  the  coast-guards  on  shore  a  course  was  immediately 


220  ON  THE   BRINK   OF   CIVIL   WAR 

set  for  the  Clyde — the  very  quarter  from  which  a  cruiser 
coming  from  Lamlash  was  to  be  expected — and  when  some 
way  out  to  sea  Crawford  cut  the  cords  holding  the  canvas 
sheets  that  bore  the  name  of  the  Mounfjoy,  so  that  within 
five  minutes  the  filibustering  pirate  had  again  become  the 
staid  old  collier  Clydevalley,  which  for  months  past  had 
carried  her  regular  weekly  cargo  of  coal  from  Scotland  to 
Belfast.  As  before  at  Langeland,  so  now  at  Copeland,  fog 
providentially  covered  retreat,  and  through  it  the  Clyde- 
valley  made  her  way  undetected  down  the  Irish  Sea.  At 
daybreak  next  morning  Crawford  landed  at  Rosslare  ;  and 
Agnew  then  proceeded  along  the  French  and  Danish  coasts 
to  the  Baltic  to  the  rendezvous  with  the  Fanny,  in  order  to 
bring  back  the  Ulstermen  members  of  her  crew,  after  which 
"  the  mystery  ship  "  was  finally  disposed  of  at  Hamburg. 

Sir  Edward  Carson  and  Lord  Londonderry  were  both  in 
London  on  the  24th  of  April.  At  an  early  hour  next  morn- 
ing a  telegram  was  delivered  to  each  of  them,  containing 
the  single  word  "  Lion."  It  was  a  code  message  signifying 
that  the  landing  of  the  arms  had  been  carried  out  without 
a  hitch.  Before  long  special  editions  of  the  newspapers 
proclaimed  the  news  to  all  the  world,  and  as  fresh  details 
appeared  in  every  successive  issue  during  the  day  the  public 
excitement  grew  in  intensity.  Wherever  two  or  three 
Unionists  were  gathered  together  exultation  was  the  pre- 
vailing mood,  and  eagerness  to  send  congratulations  to 
friends  in  Ulster. 

Soon  after  breakfast  a  visitor  to  Sir  Edward  Carson  found 
a  motor  brougham  standing  at  his  door,  and  on  being 
admitted  was  told  that  "  Lord  Roberts  is  with  Sir  Edward." 
The  great  little  Field-Marshal,  on  learning  the  news,  had 
lost  not  a  moment  in  coming  to  offer  his  congratulations 
to  the  Ulster  leader.  "  Magnificent  !  "  he  exclaimed,  on 
entering  the  room  and  holding  out  his  hand,  "  magnificent ! 
nothing  could  have  been  better  done  ;  it  was  a  piece  of 
organisation  that  any  army  in  Europe  might  be  proud  of." 

But  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  Government  and 
its  supporters  would  relish  the  news.  The  Radical  Press, 
of  course,  rang  all  the  changes  of  angry  vituperation, 
especially  those  papers  which  had  been  prominent  in  ridi- 


1914]  CARSON   ACCEPTS   RESPONSIBILITY         221 

culing  "  Ulster  bluff  "  and  "  King  Carson's  wooden  guns  "  ; 
and  they  now  speculated  as  to  whether  Carson  could  be 
"  convicted  of  complicity  "  in  what  Mr.  Asquith  in  the 
House  of  Commons  described  as  "  this  grave  and  unprece- 
dented outrage."  Carson  soon  set  that  question  at  rest  by 
quietly  rising  in  his  place  in  the  House  and  saying  that  he 
took  full  responsibility  for  everything  that  had  been  done. 
The  Prime  Minister,  amid  the  frenzied  cheers  of  his  fol- 
lowers, assured  the  House  that  "  His  IMajesty's  Government 
will  take,  without  delay,  appropriate  steps  to  vindicate 
the  authority  of  the  law."  For  a  short  time  there  was  some 
curiosity  as  to  what  the  appropriate  steps  would  be. 
None,  however,  of  any  sort  were  taken  ;  the  Government 
contented  itself  with  sending  a  few  destroyers  to  patrol 
for  a  short  time  the  coasts  of  Antrim  and  Down,  where 
they  were  saluted  by  the  Ulster  Signalling  Stations,  and 
their  officers  hospitably  entertained  on  shore  by  loyalist 
residents. 

On  the  28th  of  April  a  further  debate  on  the  Curragh 
Incident  took  place  in  the  House  of  Commons,  which  was 
a  curious  example  of  the  rapid  changes  of  mood  that 
characterise  that  Assembly.  Most  of  the  speeches  both 
from  the  front  and  back  benches  were,  if  possible,  even 
more  bitter,  angry,  and  defiant  than  usual.  But  at  the 
close  of  one  of  the  bitterest  of  them  all  Mr.  Churchill  read 
a  typewritten  passage  that  was  recognised  as  a  tiny  olive- 
branch  held  out  to  Ulster.  Carson  responded  next  day  in 
a  conciliatory  tone,  and  the  Prime  Minister  w^as  thought  to 
suggest  a  renewal  of  negotiations  in  private.  For  some 
time  nothing  came  of  this  hint ;  but  on  the  12th  of  May 
Mr.  Asquith  announced  that  the  third  reading  of  the  Home 
Rule  Bill  (for  the  third  successive  year,  as  required  by  the 
Parliament  Act  before  being  presented  for  the  signature  of 
the  King)  would  be  taken  before  Whitsuntide,  but  that  the 
Government  intended  to  make  another  attempt  to  appease 
Ulster  by  introducing  "  an  amending  proposal,  in  the  hope 
that  a  settlement  by  agreement  may  be  arrived  at  "  ;  and 
that  the  two  Bills — the  Home  Rule  Bill  and  the  Bill  to 
amend  it — might  become  law  practically  at  the  same 
time.      But  he  gave  no  hint  as  to  what  the  "  amending 


222  ON  THE   BRINK  OF   CIVIL   WAR 

proposal  "  was  to  be,  and  the  reception  of  the  announce- 
ment by  the  Opposition  did  not  seem  to  presage  agreement. 

Mr.  Bonar  Law  insisted  that  the  House  of  Commons 
ought  to  be  told  what  the  Amending  Bill  would  propose, 
before  it  was  asked  finally  to  pass  the  Home  Rule  Bill. 
But  the  real  fact  was,  as  every  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons  fully  realised,  that  Mr.  Asquith  was  not  a  free 
agent  in  this  matter.  The  Nationalists  were  not  at  all 
pleased  at  the  attempts  already  made,  trivial  as  they  were, 
to  satisfy  Ulster,  and  Mr.  Redmond  protested  against  the 
promise  of  an  Amending  Bill  of  any  kind.  Mr.  Asquith 
could  make  no  proposal  sufficient  to  allay  the  hostility  of 
Ulster  that  would  not  alienate  the  Nationalists,  whose 
support  was  essential  to  the  continuance  of  his  Govern- 
ment in  office. 

On  the  same  day  as  this  debate  in  Parliament  the  result 
of  a  by-election  at  Grimsby  was  announced  in  which  the 
Unionist  candidate  retained  the  seat ;  a  week  later  the 
Unionists  won  a  seat  in  Derbyshire  ;  and  two  days  after- 
wards crowned  these  successes  with  a  resounding  victory  at 
Ipswich.  The  last-mentioned  contest  was  considered  so 
important  that  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Sir  Edward  Carson 
went  down  to  speak  the  evening  before  the  poll  for  their 
respective  sides.  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  made  his  appeal  to  the  cupidity  of  the  con- 
stituency, which  was  informed  that  it  would  gain  £15,000  a 
year  from  his  new  Budget,  in  addition  to  large  sums,  of 
which  he  gave  the  figure,  for  old  age  pensions  and  under  the 
Government's  Health  Insurance  Act.^  Sir  Edward  Carson 
laid  stress  on  Ulster's  determination  to  resist  Home  Rule 
by  force.  The  Unionist  candidate  won  the  seat  next  day 
in  this  essentially  working-class  constituency  by  a  sub- 
stantial majority,  although  his  Liberal  opponent,  Mr. 
Masterman,  was  a  Cabinet  Minister  trying  for  the  second 
time  to  return  to  Parliament.  Out  of  seven  elections  since 
the  beginning  of  the  session  the  Government  had  lost  four. 

It  happened  that  the  two  latest  new  members  took  their 
seats  on  the  25th  of  May,  on  which  date  the  Home  Rule 
Bill  was  passed  by  the  House  of  Commons  on  third  reading 
1  4-nnual  Register,  1914,  p.   110, 


191i]  FINAL   PASSING   OF   THE   BILL  223 

for  the  last  time.  The  occasion  was  celebrated  by  the 
Nationalists,  not  unnaturally,  by  a  great  demonstration 
of  triumph,  both  in  the  House  itself  and  outside  in  Palace 
Yard.  Men  on  the  other  side  reflected  that  the  tragedy 
of  civil  war  had  been  brought  one  stage  nearer. 

The  reply  of  Ulster  to  the  passing  of  the  Bill  was  a  series 
of  reviews  of  the  U.V.F.  during  the  Whitsuntide  recess. 
Carson,  Londonderry,  Craig,  and  most  of  the  other  Ulster 
members  attended  these  parades,  which  excited  intense 
enthusiasm  through  the  country,  more  especially  as  the 
arms  brought  by  the  Mountjoy  were  now  seen  for  the  first 
time  in  the  hands  of  the  Volunteers.  Several  battalions 
were  presented  with  Colours  which  had  been  provided  by 
Lady  Londonderry,  Lady  Massereene,  Mrs.  Craig,  and 
other  local  ladies,  and  the  ceremony  included  the  dedi- 
cation of  these  Colours  by  the  Bishop  of  Down  and  the 
Moderator  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Many  visitors 
from  England  witnessed  these  displays,  and  among  them 
were  several  deputations  of  Liberal  and  Labour  working 
men,  who  reported  on  their  return  that  what  they  had  seen 
had  converted  them  to  sympathy  with  LHster.^ 

After  the  recess  the  promised  Amending  Bill  was  in- 
troduced in  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  23rd  of  June  by  the 
Marquis  of  Crewe,  who  explained  that  it  embodied  Mr. 
Asquith's  proposals  of  the  9th  of  March,  and  that  he  invited 
amendments.  Lord  Lansdowne  at  once  declared  that 
these  proposals,  which  had  been  rejected  as  inadequate 
three  months  ago,  were  doubly  insufficient  now.  But  the 
invitation  to  amend  the  Bill  was  accepted,  Lord  London- 
derry asking  the  pertinent  question  whether  the  Govern- 
ment would  tell  I\Ir.  Redmond  that  they  would  insist  on 
acceptance  of  any  amendments  made  in  response  to  Lord 
Crewe's  invitation — a  question  to  which  no  answer  was 
forthcoming.  Lord  IMilner,  in  the  course  of  the  debate, 
said  the  Bill  would  have  to  be  entirely  remodelled,  and  he 
laid  stress  on  the  point  that  if  Ulster  were  coerced  to  join 
the  rest  of  Ireland  it  would  make  a  united  Ireland  for  ever 
impossible,  and  that  the  employment  of  the  Army  and  Navy 
for  the  purpose  of  coercion  would  give  a  shock  to  the  Empire 

1  Annual  Register,  1914,  p,   114. 


224  ON   THE   BRINK   OF   CIVIL  WAR 

which  it  would  not  long  survive  ;  to  which  Lord  Roberts 
added  that  such  a  policy  would  mean  the  utter  destruction 
of  the  Army,  as  he  had  warned  the  Prime  Minister  before 
the  incident  at  the  Curragh. 

On  the  8th  of  July  the  Bill  was  amended  by  substituting 
the  permanent  exclusion  of  the  whole  province  of  Ulster — 
which  Mr.  Balfour  had  named  "  the  clean  cut  " — for  the 
proposed  county  option  with  a  time  limit ;  and  several 
other  alterations  of  minor  importance  were  also  made. 
The  Bill  as  amended  passed  the  third  reading  on  the  14th, 
when  Lord  Lansdowne  predicted  that,  whatever  might 
be  the  fate  of  the  measure  and  of  the  Home  Rule  Bill 
which  it  modified,  the  one  thing  certain  was  that  the  idea 
of  coercing  Ulster  was  dead. 

In  Ulster  itself,  meanwhile,  the  people  were  bent  on 
making  Lord  Lansdowne's  certainty  doubly  sure.  Carson 
went  over  for  the  Boyne  celebration  on  the  12th  of  July. 
The  frequency  of  his  visits  did  nothing  to  damp  the  ardour 
with  which  his  arrival  was  always  hailed  by  his  followers. 
The  same  wonderful  scenes,  whether  at  Larne  or  at  the 
Belfast  docks,  were  repeated  time  after  time  without 
appearing  to  grow  stale  by  repetition.  They  gave  colour 
to  the  Radical  jeer  at  "  King  Carson,"  for  no  royal  per- 
sonage could  have  been  given  a  more  regal  reception  than 
was  accorded  to  "  Sir  Edward  "  (as  everybody  affection- 
ately called  him  in  Belfast)  half  a  dozen  times  within  a  few 
months. 

This  occasion,  when  he  arrived  on  the  10th  by  the  Liver- 
pool steamer,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Walter  Long,  was  no 
exception.  His  route  had  been  announced  in  the  Press. 
Countless  Union  Jacks  were  displayed  in  every  village 
along  both  shores  of  the  Lough.  Every  vessel  at  anchor, 
including  the  gigantic  White  Star  Liner  Britannic,  was 
dressed  ;  every  fog-horn  bellowed  a  welcome  ;  the  multi- 
tude of  men  at  work  in  the  great  ship-yards  crowded  to 
places  commanding  a  view  of  the  incoming  packet,  and 
waved  handkerchiefs  and  raised  cheers  for  Sir  Edward  ; 
fellow  passengers  jostled  each  other  to  get  sight  of  him  as 
he  went  down  the  gangway  and  to  give  him  a  parting  cheer 
from  the  deck  ;    the  dock  sheds  were  packed  with  people, 


1914]  THE  NORTHCLIFFE   PRESS  225 

many  of  them  bare-headed  and  bare-footed  women,  who 
pressed  close  in  the  hope  of  touching  his  hand,  or  hearing 
one  of  his  kindly  and  humorous  greetings.  It  was  the 
same  in  the  streets  all  the  way  from  the  docks  to  the  centre 
of  the  city,  and  out  through  the  working-class  district  of 
Ballymacarret  to  the  country  beyond,  and  in  every  hamlet 
on  the  road  to  Newtown ards  and  Mount  Stewart — people 
congregating  to  give  him  a  cheer  as  he  passed  in  Lord 
Londonderry's  motor-car,  or  pausing  in  their  work  on  the 
land  to  wave  a  greeting  from  fields  bordering  the  road. 

Radical  newspapers  in  England  believed — ^or  at  any  rate 
tried  to  make  their  readers  believe — that  the  "  Northcliffe 
Press,"  particularly  The  Times  and  Daily  Mail,  gave  an 
exaggerated  account  of  these  extraordinary  demonstra- 
tions of  welcome  to  Carson,  and  of  the  impressiveness  of 
the  great  meetings  which  he  addressed.  But  the  accounts 
in  Lord  Northcliffe's  papers  did  not  differ  materially  from 
those  in  other  journals  like  The  Daily  Telegraph,  The  Daily 
Express,  The  Standard,  The  Morning  Post,  The  Observer, 
The  Scotsman,  and  The  Spectator.  There  was  no  exaggera- 
tion. The  special  correspondents  gave  faithful  accounts  of 
what  they  saw  and  heard,  and  no  more.  Editorial  support 
was  a  different  matter.  Lord  Northcliffe's  papers  were  un- 
failing in  their  support  of  the  Ulster  cause,  as  were  many 
other  great  British  journals  ;  and  even  when  at  a  later 
period  Lord  Northcliffe's  attitude  on  the  general  question 
of  Irish  government  underwent  a  change  that  was  pro- 
foundly disappointing  to  Ulstermen,  his  papers  never 
countenanced  the  idea  of  applying  coercion  to  Ulster. 
In  the  years  1911  to  1914  The  Times  remained  true  to  the 
tradition  started  by  .Tohn  Walter,  who,  himself  a  Liberal, 
went  personally  to  Belfast  in  1886  to  inform  himself  on  the 
question,  then  for  the  first  time  raised  by  Gladstone ;  and, 
having  done  so,  supported  the  loyalist  cause  in  Ireland  till 
his  death.  A  series  of  weighty  articles  in  1913  and  1914  ap- 
proved and  encouraged  the  resistance  threatened  by  Ulster 
to  Home  Rule,  and  justified  the  measures  taken  in  prepara- 
tion for  it.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  reason  for  a 
different  attitude  at  a  later  date,  Ulster  owed  a  debt  of 
gratitude  to  The  Times  in  those  troubled  years. 


226  ON   THE   BRINK   OF   CIVIL  WAR 

The  long-expected  crisis  appeared  to  be  very  close  when 
Carson  arrived  in  Belfast  on  the  10th  of  July,  1914.  He  had 
come  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council — 
sitting  for  the  first  time  as  the  Provisional  Government. 
Craig  communicated  to  the  Press  the  previous  day  the 
Preamble  and  some  of  the  articles  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
Provisional  Government,  hitherto  kept  strictly  secret,  one 
article  being  that  the  administration  would  be  taken  over 
"  in  trust  for  the  Constitution  of  the  United  Kingdom," 
and  that  "  upon  the  restoration  of  direct  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, the  Provisional  Government  shall  cease  to  exist." 

At  this  session  on  the  10th,  the  proceedings  of  which 
were  private,  Carson  explained  the  extreme  gravity  of  the 
situation  now  reached.  The  Plome  Rule  Bill  would  become 
law  probably  in  a  few  weeks.  It  was  pretty  certain  that 
the  Nationalists  would  not  permit  the  Government  to 
accept  the  Amending  Bill  in  the  altered  form  in  which  it 
had  left  the  Upper  House.  In  that  case,  nothing  remained 
for  them  in  Ulster  but  to  carry  out  the  policy  they  had 
resolved  upon  long  ago,  and  to  make  good  the  Covenant. 
After  his  forty  minutes'  speech  a  quiet  and  business-like 
discussion  followed.  Plenary  authority  to  take  any  action 
necessary  in  emergency  was  conferred  unanimously  on  the 
executive.  The  course  to  be  followed  in  assuming  the 
administration  was  explained  and  agreed  to,  and  when  they 
separated  all  the  members  felt  that  the  crisis  for  which 
they  had  been  preparing  so  long  had  at  last  come  upon  them. 
There  was  no  flinching. 

Next  day  there  was  a  parade  of  3,000  U.V.F.  at  Larne. 
A  distinguished  American  who  was  present  said  after  the 
march  past,  "  You  could  destroy  these  Volunteers,  but  you 
could  not  conquer  them."  Carson  spoke  with  exceptional 
solemnity  to  the  men,  telling  them  candidly  that,  "  unless 
something  happens  the  evidence  of  which  is  not  visible  at 
present,"  he  could  discern  nothing  but  darkness  ahead, 
and  no  hope  of  peace.  He  ended  by  exhorting  his  followers 
throughout  Ulster  to  preserve  their  self-control  and  to 
"  commit  no  act  against  any  individual  or  against  any  man's 
property  which  would  sully  the  great  name  you  have 
already  won." 


1914]  BUCKINGHAM   PALACE  227 

As  usual,  his  influence  was  powerful  enough  to  prevent 
disturbance.  The  Government  had  made  extensive  mili- 
tary preparations  to  maintain  order  on  the  12th  of  July ; 
but,  as  a  well-known  "  character  "  in  Belfast  expressed  it, 
"  Sir  Edward  was  worth  twenty  battalions  in  keeping 
order."  The  anniversary  was  celebrated  everywhere  by 
enormous  masses  of  men  in  a  state  of  tense  excitement. 
Lord  Londonderry  addressed  an  immense  gathering  at 
Enniskillen  ;  seventy  thousand  Orangemen  marched  from 
Belfast  to  Drumbeg  to  hear  Carson,  who  sounded  the 
same  warning  note  as  at  Lame  two  days  before.  But 
nowhere  throughout  the  Province  was  a  single  occurrence 
reported  that  called  for  action  by  the  police. 

When  the  Ulster  leaders  returned  to  London  on  the  14th 
they  were  met  by  reports  of  differences  in  the  Cabinet  over 
the  Amending  Bill,  which  was  to  be  brought  before  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  following  Monday.  Nationalist 
pressure  no  doubt  dictated  the  deletion  of  the  amendments 
made  by  the  Peers  and  the  restoration  of  the  Bill  to  its 
original  shape.  A  minority  of  the  Cabinet  was  said  to  be 
opposed  to  this  course.  Whether  that  was  true  or  false,  the 
Prime  Minister  must  by  this  time  have  realised  that  he  had 
allowed  the  country  to  drift  to  the  brink  of  civil  war,  and 
that  some  genuine  effort  must  be  made  to  arrive  at  a 
peaceable  solution. 

Accordingly  on  Monday,  the  20th,  instead  of  introducing 
the  Amending  Bill,  Mr.  Asquith  announced  in  the  House  of 
Commons  that  His  Majesty  the  King,  "  in  view  of  the  grave 
situation  which  has  arisen,  has  thought  it  right  to  summon 
representatives  of  parties,  both  British  and  Irish,  to  a 
conference  at  Buckingham  Palace,  with  the  object  of  dis- 
cussing outstanding  issues  in  relation  to  the  problem  of 
Irish  Government."  The  Prime  Minister  added  that  at 
the  King's  suggestion  the  Speaker,  INIr.  James  Lowther, 
would  preside  over  the  Conference,  which  would  begin  its 
proceedings  the  following  day. 

The  Liberals,  the  British  Unionists,  the  Nationalists, 
and  the  Ulstermen  were  respectively  represented  at  the 
Buckingham  Palace  Conference  by  Mr.  Asquith  and  Mr. 
Lloyd  George,  Lord  Lansdowne  and  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  Mr. 


228  ON  THE  BRINK  OF   CIVIL  WAR 

Redmond  and  Mr.  Dillon,  Sir  Edward  Carson  and  Captain 
James  Craig.  The  King  opened  the  Conference  in  person 
on  the  21st  with  a  speech  recognising  the  extreme  gravity 
of  the  situation,  and  making  an  impressive  appeal  for  a 
peaceful  settlement  of  the  question  at  issue.  His  Majesty- 
then  withdrew.  The  Conference  deliberated  for  four  days, 
but  were  unable  to  agree  as  to  what  area  in  Ulster  should 
be  excluded  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Parliament  in 
Dublin.  On  the  24th  Mr.  Asquith  announced  the  break- 
down of  the  Conference,  and  said  that  in  consequence  the 
Amending  Bill  would  be  introduced  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons on  Thursday,  the  30th  of  July. 

Here  was  the  old  deadlock.  The  last  glimmer  of  hope 
that  civil  war  might  be  averted  seemed  to  be  extinguished. 
Only  ten  days  had  elapsed  since  Carson  had  gloomily 
predicted  at  Larne  that  peace  was  impossible  "  unless 
something  happens,  the  evidence  of  which  is  not  visible  at 
present."  But  that  "  something  "  did  happen — though  it 
was  something  infinitely  more  dreadful,  infinitely  more 
devastating  in  its  consequences,  even  though  less  dis- 
honouring to  the  nation,  than  the  alternative  from  which 
it  saved  us.  Balanced,  as  it  seemed,  on  the  brink  of  civil 
war.  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  together  toppled  over  on 
the  other  side  into  the  maelstrom  of  world-wide  war. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  when  the  Amending  Bill  was  to  be 
discussed,  the  Prime  Minister  said  that,  with  the  concur- 
rence of  Mr.  Bonar  Law  and  Sir  Edward  Carson,  it  would 
be  indefinitely  postponed,  in  order  that  the  country  at 
this  grave  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  world  "  should  present 
a  united  front  and  be  able  to  speak  and  act  with  the  autho- 
rity of  an  undivided  nation."  To  achieve  this,  all  domestic 
quarrels  must  be  laid  aside,  and  he  promised  that  "  no 
business  of  a  controversial  character  "  would  be  under- 
taken. 

Thus  it  happened  that  the  Amending  Bill  was  never  seen 
by  the  House  of  Commons.  Four  days  later  the  United 
Kingdom  was  at  war  with  the  greatest  military  Empire 
in  the  world.  The  opportunity  had  come  for  Ulster  to 
prove  whether  her  cherished  loyalty  was  a  reality  or  a 
sham. 


CHAPTER    XX 

ULSTER   IN   THE   WAR 

More  than  a  year  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Great  War  a 
writer  in  The  Morning  Post,  describing  the  Ulster  Volun- 
teers who  were  then  beginning  to  attract  attention  in 
England,  used  language  which  was  more  accurately  pro- 
phetic than  he  can  have  realised  in  May  1913  : 

"  What  these  men  have  been  preparing  for  in  Ulster,"  he 
wrote,  "  may  be  of  value  as  a  military  asset  in  time  of 
national  emergency.  I  have  seen  the  men  at  drill,  I  have 
seen  them  on  parade,  and  experts  assure  me  that  in  the 
matter  of  discipline,  physique,  and  all  things  which  go  to 
the  making  of  a  military  force  they  are  worthy  to  rank 
with  our  regular  soldiers.  It  is  an  open  secret  that,  once 
assured  of  the  maintenance  unimpaired  of  the  Union 
between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  under  the  Imperial 
Parliament  alone,  a  vast  proportion  of  the  citizen  army  of 
Ulster  would  cheerfully  hold  itself  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Imperial  Government  and  volunteer  for  service  either  at 
home  or  abroad  !  "  ^ 

The  only  error  in  the  prediction  was  that  the  writer 
underestimated  the  sacrifice  Ulster  would  be  willing  to 
make  for  the  Empire.  When  the  testing  time  came  fifteen 
months  after  this  appreciation  was  published  all  hope  of 
unimpaired  maintenance  of  the  Union  had  to  be  sorrow- 
fully given  up,  and  only  those  who  were  in  a  position  to 
comprehend,  with  sympathy,  the  depth  and  intensity  of 
the  feeling  in  Ulster  on  the  subject  could  realise  all  that 
this  meant  to  the  people  there.  Yet,  all  the  same,  their 
"  citizen  army  "  did  not  hesitate  to  "  hold  itself  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Imperial  Government,  and  volunteer  for 
service  at  home  or  abroad." 

1  Morning  Post,  May  19th,  1913. 
229 


230  ULSTER   IN   THE   WAR 

In  August  1914  the  U.V.F.,  of  100,000  men,  was  without 
question  the  most  efficient  force  of  infantry  in  the  United 
Kingdom  outside  the  Regular  Army.  The  medical  comb 
did  not  seriously  thin  its  ranks ;  and  although  the  age  test 
considerably  reduced  its  number,  it  still  left  a  body  of  fine 
material  for  the  British  Army.  Some  of  the  best  of  its 
officers,  like  Captain  Arthur  O'Neill,  M.P.,  of  the  Life  Guards, 
and  Lord  Castlereagh  of  the  Blues,  had  to  leave  the  U.V.F. 
to  rejoin  the  regiments  to  which  they  belonged,  or  to  take 
up  staff  appointments  at  the  front.  In  spite  of  such  losses 
there  was  a  strong  desire  in  the  force,  which  was  shared  by 
the  political  leaders,  that  it  should  be  kept  intact  as  far  as 
possible  and  form  a  distinct  unit  for  active  service,  and 
efforts  were  at  once  made  to  get  the  War  Office  to  arrange 
for  this  to  be  done.  Pressure  of  work  at  the  War  Office, 
and  Lord  Kitchener's  aversion  from  anything  that  he 
thought  savoured  of  political  considerations  in  the  organi- 
sation of  the  Army,  imposed  a  delay  of  several  weeks  before 
this  was  satisfactorily  arranged  ;  and  the  consequence  was 
that  in  the  first  few  weeks  of  the  war  a  large  number  of 
the  keenest  young  men  in  Ulster  enlisted  in  various  regi- 
ments before  it  was  known  that  an  Ulster  Division  was  to 
be  formed  out  of  the  U.V.F. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  September  before  Carson  was  in 
a  position  to  go  to  Belfast  to  announce  that  such  an  arrange- 
ment had  been  made  with  Lord  Kitchener.  And  when  he 
went  he  had  also  the  painful  duty  of  telling  the  people  of 
Ulster  that  the  Government  was  going  to  give  them  the 
meanest  recompense  for  the  promptitude  with  which  they 
had  thrown  aside  all  party  purposes  in  order  to  assist  the 
Empire. 

W^hen  war  broke  out  a  "  party  truce  "  had  been  pro- 
claimed. The  Unionist  leaders  promised  their  support  to 
the  Government  in  carrying  on  the  war,  and  Mr.  Asquith 
pledged  the  Government  to  drop  all  controversial  legisla- 
tion. The  consideration  of  the  Amending  Bill  had  been 
shelved  by  agreement,  Mr.  Asquith  stating  that  the  post- 
ponement "  must  be  without  prejudice  to  the  domestic  and 
political  position  of  any  party."  On  this  understanding 
the  Unionist  Party  supported,  almost  without  so  much  as 


1914]  CABINET'S   BREACH   OF   FAITH  231 

a  word  of  criticism,  all  the  emergency  measures  proposed 
by  the  Government.  Yet  on  the  10th  of  August  Mr. 
Asquith  astonished  the  Unionists  by  announcing  that  the 
promise  to  take  no  controversial  business  was  not  to  prevent 
him  advising  the  King  to  sign  the  Home  Rule  Bill,  which 
had  been  hung  up  in  the  House  of  Lords  by  the  introduction 
of  the  Amending  Bill,  and  had  never  been  either  rejected 
or  passed  by  that  House. 

Mr.  Balfour  immediately  protested  against  this  conduct 
as  a  breach  of  faith  ;  but  Mr.  Redmond's  speech  on  that 
occasion  contained  the  explanation  of  the  Government's 
conduct.  The  Nationalist  leader  gave  a  strong  hint  that 
any  help  in  the  war  from  the  southern  provinces  of  Ireland 
would  depend  on  whether  or  not  the  Home  Rule  Bill  was 
to  become  law  at  once.  Although  the  personal  loyalty  of 
Mr.  Redmond  was  beyond  question,  and  although  he  was 
no  doubt  sincere  when  he  subsequently  denied  that  his 
speech  was  so  intended,  it  w^as  in  reality  an  application  of 
the  old  maxim  that  England's  difficulty  is  Ireland's  oppor- 
tunity. In  any  case,  the  Cabinet  knew  that,  however  un- 
justly Ulster  might  be  treated,  she  could  be  relied  upon  to 
do  everything  in  her  power  to  further  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  war,  and  they  cynically  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  best  thing  to  do  was  to  placate  those  whose  loyalty 
was  less  assured. 

This  was  the  unpleasant  tale  that  Sir  Edward  Carson  had 
to  unfold  to  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  on  the  3rd  of 
September.  After  explaining  how  and  why  he  had  con- 
sented to  the  indefinite  postponement  of  the  Amending 
Bill,  he  continued  : 

"  And  so,  without  any  condition  of  any  kind,  we  agreed 
that  the  Bill  should  be  postponed  without  prejudice  to  the 
position  of  either  party.  England's  difficulty  is  not  Ulster's 
opportunity.  England's  difficulty  is  our  difficulty  ;  and 
England's  sorrows  have  always  been,  and  always  will  be, 
our  sorrows.  I  have  seen  it  stated  that  the  Germans 
thought  they  had  hit  on  an  opportune  moment,  owing  to 
our  domestic  difficulties,  to  make  their  bullying  demand 
against  our  country.  They  little  understood  for  what  we 
were  fighting.     We  were  not  fighting  to  get  away  from 

16 


232  ULSTER   IN  THE   WAR 

England  ;  we  were  fighting  to  stay  with  England,  and  the 
Power  that  attempted  to  lay  a  hand  upon  England,  what- 
ever might  be  our  domestic  quarrels,  would  at  once  bring 
us  together — as  it  has  brought  us  together — as  one  man." 

In  order  to  avoid  controversy  at  such  a  time,  Carson 
declared  he  would  say  nothing  about  their  opponents.  He 
insisted  that,  however  unworthily  the  Government  might 
act  in  a  great  national  emergency,  Ulstermen  must  dis- 
tinguish between  the  Prime  Minister  as  a  party  leader  and 
the  Prime  Minister  as  the  representative  of  the  whole 
nation.  Their  duty  was  to  "  think  not  of  him  or  his  party, 
but  of  our  country,"  and  they  must  show  that  "  we  do  not 
seek  to  purchase  terms  by  selling  our  patriotism."  He 
then  referred  to  the  pride  they  all  felt  in  the  U.V.F. ;  how 
he  had  "  watched  them  grow  from  infancy,"  through  self- 
sacrificing  toil  to  their  present  high  efficiency,  with  the 
purpose  of  "  allowing  us  to  be  put  into  no  degraded  position 
in  the  United  Kingdom."  But  under  the  altered  conditions 
their  duty  was  clear  : 

"  Our  country  and  our  Empire  are  in  danger.  And 
under  these  circumstances,  knowing  that  the  very  basis  of 
our  political  faith  is  our  belief  in  the  greatness  of  the  United 
Kingdom  and  of  the  Empire,  I  say  to  our  Volunteers  with- 
out hesitation,  go  and  help  to  save  your  country.  Go  and 
win  honour  for  Ulster  and  for  Ireland.  To  every  man  that 
goes,  or  has  gone,  and  not  to  them  only,  but  to  every  Irish- 
man, you  and  I  say,  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts,  '  God 
bless  you  and  bring  you  home  safe  and  victorious.'  " 

The  arrangements  with  the  War  Office  for  forming  a 
Division  from  the  Ulster  Volunteers  were  then  explained, 
which  would  enable  the  men  "  to  go  as  old  comrades  accus- 
tomed to  do  their  military  training  together."  Carson 
touched  lightly  on  fears  that  had  been  expressed  lest  poli- 
tical advantage  should  be  taken  by  the  Government  or  by 
the  Nationalists  of  the  conversion  of  the  U.V.F.  into  a 
Division  of  the  British  Army,  which  would  leave  Ulster 
defenceless.  "  We  are  quite  strong  enough,"  he  said,  "  to 
take  care  of  ourselves,  and  so  I  say  to  men,  so  far  as  they 


1914]  CARSON'S   PATRIOTIC   SPEECH  233 

have  confidence  and  trust  in  me,  that  I  advise  them  to  go 
and  do  their  duty  to  the  country,  and  we  will  take  care  of 
politics  hereafter."  He  concluded  by  moving  a  resolution, 
which  was  unanimously  carried  by  the  Council,  urging 
"  all  Loyalists  who  owe  allegiance  to  our  cause  "  to  join  the 
Army  at  once  if  qualified  for  military  service. 

From  beginning  to  end  of  this  splendidly  patriotic  oration 
no  allusion  was  made  to  the  Nationalist  attitude  to  the  war. 
Few  people  in  Ulster  had  any  belief  that  the  spots  on  the 
leopard  were  going  to  disappear,  even  when  the  Home  Rule 
Bill  had  been  placed  on  the  Statute-book.  The  "  diffi- 
culty "  and  the  "  opportunity  "  would  continue  in  their 
old  relations.  People  in  Belfast,  as  elsewhere,  did  justice 
to  the  patriotic  tone  of  Mr.  Redmond's  speech  in  the  House 
of  Commons  on  the  3rd  of  August,  which  made  so  deep  an 
impression  in  England  ;  but  they  believed  him  mistaken 
in  attributing  to  "  the  democracy  of  Ireland  "  a  complete 
change  of  sentiment  towards  England,  and  their  scepticism 
was  more  than  justified  by  subsequent  events. 

But  they  also  scrutinised  more  carefully  than  Englishmen 
the  precise  words  used  by  the  Nationalist  leader.  English- 
men, both  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  in  the  country, 
were  carried  off  their  feet  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy  and  wonder 
at  Mr.  Redmond's  confident  offer  of  loyal  help  from  Ireland 
to  the  Empire  in  the  mighty  world  conflict.  Ireland  was  to 
be  "the  one  bright  spot."  Ulstermen,  on  the  other  hand, 
did  not  fail  to  observe  that  the  offer  was  limited  to  service 
at  home.  "  I  say  to  the  Government,"  said  Mr.  Redmond, 
"  that  they  may  to-morrow  withdraw  every  one  of  their 
troops  from  Ireland.  I  say  that  the  coast  of  Ireland  will 
be  defended  from  foreign  invasion  by  her  armed  sons,  and 
for  this  purpose  armed  Nationalist  Catholics  in  the  South 
will  be  only  too  glad  to  join  arms  with  the  armed  Protestant 
Ulstermen  in  the  North." 

These  sentences  were  rapturously  applauded  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  When  they  were  read  in  Ulster  the  shrewd 
men  of  the  North  asked  what  danger  threatened  the 
'■  coast  of  Ireland  "  ;  and  whether,  supposing  there  were  a 
danger,  the  British  Navy  would  not  be  a  surer  defence  than 
the  "  armed  sons  "  of  Ireland  whether  from  South  or  North. 


234  ULSTER   IN   THE   WAR 

It  was  not  on  the  coast  of  Ireland  but  the  coast  of  Flanders 
that  men  were  needed,  and  it  was  thither  that  the  "  armed 
Protestant  Ulstermen  "  were  preparing  to  go  in  thousands. 
They  would  not  be  behind  the  Catholics  of  the  South  in  the 
spirit  of  comradeship  invoked  by  Mr.  Redmond  if  they  were 
to  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  under  the  fire  of  Prussian 
batteries  ;  but  they  could  not  wax  enthusiastic  over  the 
suggestion  that,  while  they  went  to  France,  Mr.  Redmond's 
Nationalist  Volunteers  should  be  trained  and  armed  by  the 
Government  to  defend  the  Irish  coast — and  possibly,  later, 
to  impose  their  will  upon  Ulster. 

The  organisation  and  the  training  of  the  Ulster  Division 
forms  no  part  of  the  present  narrative,  but  it  must  be 
stated  that  after  Carson's  speech  on  the  3rd  of  September, 
recruiting  went  on  uninterruptedly  and  rapidly,  and  the 
whole  energies  of  the  local  leaders  and  of  the  rank  and  file 
were  thrown  into  the  work  of  preparation.  Captain  James 
Craig,  promoted  to  be  Lieutenant-Colonel,  was  appointed 
Q  .M.G.  of  the  Division ;  but  the  arduous  duties  of  this  post, 
in  which  he  tried  to  do  the  work  of  half  a  dozen  men, 
brought  about  a  complete  breakdown  of  health  some 
months  later,  with  the  result  that,  to  his  deep  disappoint- 
ment, he  was  forbidden  to  go  with  the  Division  to  France. 
No  one  displayed  a  finer  spirit  than  his  brother,  Mr.  Charles 
Craig,  M.P.  for  South  Antrim.  He  had  never  done  any 
soldiering,  as  his  brother  had  in  South  Africa,  and  he  was 
over  military  age  in  1914  ;  but  he  did  not  allow  either  his 
age,  his  military  inexperience,  or  his  membership  of  the 
House  of  Commons  to  serve  as  excuse  for  separating  him- 
self from  the  men  with  whom  he  had  learnt  the  elements  of 
drill  in  the  LT.V.F.  He  obtained  a  commission  as  Captain 
in  the  Ulster  Division,  and  went  with  it  to  France,  where 
he  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  in  the  great  engage- 
ment at  Thiepval  in  the  battle  of  the  Somme,  and  had  to 
endure  all  the  rigours  of  captivity  in  Germany  till  the  end 
of  the  war.  There  was  afterwards  not  a  little  pungent 
comment  among  his  friends  on  the  fact  that,  when  honours 
were  descending  in  showers  on  the  heads  of  the  just  and  the 
unjust  alike,  a  full  share  of  which  reached  members  of 
Parliament,  sometimes  for  no  very  conspicuous  merit,  no 


1914]  MR.   ASQUITH'S   PLEDGES  235 

recognition  of  any  kind  was  awarded  to  this  gallant  Ulster 
officer,  who  had  set  so  fine  an  example  and  unostentatiously 
done  so  much  more  than  his  duty. 

The  Government's  act  of  treachery  in  regard  to  "  con- 
troversial  business  "   was   consummated   on   the   18th  of 
September,  when  the  Home  Rule  Bill  received  the  Royal 
Assent.     On  the  15th  Mr.  Asquith  put  forward  his  defence 
in  the  House  of  Commons.     In  a  sentence  of  mellifluous 
optimism  that  was  to  be  woefully  falsified  in  a  not-distant 
future,    he   declared    his   confidence   that   the    action   his 
Ministry  was  taking  would  bring  "  for  the  first  time  for  a 
hundred    years    Irish     opinion,    Irish     sentiment,    Irish 
loyalty,  flowing  with  a  strong  and  a  continuous  and  ever- 
increasing  stream   into   the   great   reservoir   of  Imperial 
resources  and  Imperial  unity."     He  acknowledged,  how- 
ever, that  the  Government  had  pledged  itself  not  to  put 
the  Home  Rule  Bill  on  the  Statute-book  until  the  Amending 
Bill  had  been  disposed  of.     That  promise  was  not  now  to 
be  kept ;  instead  he  gave  another,  which,  when  the  time 
came,    was    equally    violated,    namely,    to   introduce   the 
Amending  Bill  "  in  the  next  session  of  Parliament,  before 
the  Irish  Government  Bill  can  possibly  come  into  opera- 
tion."    Meantime,  there  was  to  be  a  Suspensory  Bill  to 
provide  that  the  Home  Rule  Bill  should  remain  in  abeyance 
till  the  end  of  the  war,  and  he  gave  an  assurance  "  which 
would  be  in  spirit  and  in  substance  completely  fulfilled, 
that  the  Home  Rule  Bill  will  not  and  cannot  come  into 
operation  until  Parliament  has  had  the  fullest  opportunity, 
by  an  Amending  Bill,  of  altering,  modifying,  or  qualifying 
its  provisions  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  the  general  consent 
both  of  Ireland  and  of  the  United  Kingdom."     The  Prime 
Minister,  further,  paid  a  tribute  to  "  the  patriotic  and  public 
spirit  which  had  been  shown  by  the  Ulster  Volunteers," 
whose  conduct  has  made  "  the  employment  of  force,  any 
kind  of  force,  for  what  you  call  the  coercion  of  Ulster,  an 
absolutely  unthinkable  thing." 

But  a  verbal  acknowledgment  of  the  public  spirit  shown 
by  the  U.V.F.  in  the  first  month  of  the  war  was  a  paltry 
recompense  for  the  Government's  breach  of  faith,  as  Mr. 
Bonar  Law  immediately  pointed  out  in  a  stinging  rejoinder. 


236  ULSTER  IN  THE  WAR 

The  leader  of  the  Opposition  concluded  his  powerful  indict- 
ment by  saying  that  such  conduct  by  the  Government 
could  not  be  allowed  to  pass  without  protest,  but  that  at 
such  a  moment  of  national  danger  debate  in  Parliament  on 
this  domestic  quarrel,  forced  upon  them  by  Ministers,  was 
indecent ;  and  that,  having  made  his  protest,  neither  he 
nor  his  party  would  take  further  part  in  that  indecency. 
Thereupon  the  whole  Unionist  Party  followed  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  out  of  the  Chamber. 

But  that  was  not  the  end  of  the  incident.  It  had  been 
decided,  with  Sir  Edward  Carson's  approval,  that  "  Ulster 
Day,"  the  second  anniversary  of  the  Covenant,  should  be 
celebrated  in  Ulster  by  special  religious  services.  The 
intention  had  been  to  focus  attention  on  the  larger  aspects 
of  Imperial  instead  of  local  patriotism  ;  but  what  had  just 
occurred  in  Parliament  could  not  be  ignored,  and  it  neces- 
sitated a  reaffirmation  of  Ulster's  unchanged  attitude  in 
the  domestic  quarrel.  Mr.  Bonar  Law  now  determined  to 
accompany  Sir  Edward  Carson  to  Belfast  to  renew  and  to 
amplify  under  these  circumstances  the  pledges  of  British 
Unionists  to  Ulster. 

The  occasion  was  a  memorable  one  in  several  respects. 
On  the  17th  of  September  Sir  Edward  Carson  had  been 
quietly  married  in  the  country  to  Miss  Frewen,  and  he  was 
accompanied  to  Belfast  a  few  days  later  by  the  new  Lady 
Carson,  who  then  made  acquaintance  with  Ulster  and  her 
husband's  followers  for  the  first  time.  The  scenes  that 
invariably  marked  the  leader's  arrival  from  England  have 
been  already  described  ;  but  the  presence  of  his  wife  led 
to  a  more  exuberant  welcome  than  ever  on  this  occasion  ; 
and  the  recent  Parliamentary  storm,  with  its  sequel  in  the 
visit  of  the  leader  of  the  Unionist  Party,  contributed  further 
to  the  unbounded  enthusiasm  of  the  populace. 

There  was  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  morning  of  the 
28th,  Ulster  Day,  at  which  Carson  told  the  whole  story 
of  the  conferences,  negotiations,  conversations,  and  what 
not,  that  had  been  going  on  up  to,  and  even  since,  the  out- 
break of  war,  in  the  course  of  which  he  observed  that,  if  he 
had  committed  any  fault,  "it  was  that  he  believed  the  Prime 
Minister."     He  paid  a  just  tribute  to  Mr.   Bonar  Law, 


1914]  BONAR   LAW'S   PROMISE  237 

whose  constancy,  patience,  and  "  resolution  to  be  no  party 
even  under  these  difficult  circumstances  to  anything  that 
would  be  throwing  over  Ulster,  were  matters  which 
would  be  photographed  upon  his  mind  to  the  very  end 
of  his  life." 

But  while,  naturally,  resentment  at  the  conduct  of  the 
Government  found  forcible  expression,  and  the  policy  that 
would  be  pursued  "  after  the  war  "  was  outlined,  the  key- 
note of  the  speeches  at  this  Council  Meeting,  and  also  at 
the  overwhelming  demonstration  addressed  by  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  in  the  Ulster  Hall  in  the  evening,  was  "  country  before 
party."  As  the  Unionist  leader  truly  said  :  "  This  is  not 
an  anti-Home  Rule  meeting.  That  can  wait,  and  you  are 
strong  enough  to  let  it  wait  with  quiet  confidence."  But 
before  passing  to  the  great  issues  raised  by  the  war,  in- 
troduced by  a  telling  allusion  to  the  idea  that  Germany 
had  calculated  on  Ulster  being  a  thorn  in  England's  side, 
Mr.  Bonar  Law  gave  the  message  to  Ulster  which  he  had 
specially  crossed  the  Channel  to  deliver  in  person. 

He  reminded  the  audience  that  hitherto  the  promise  of 
support  to  Ulster  by  the  Unionists  of  Great  Britain,  given 
long  before  at  Blenheim,  had  been  coupled  with  the  con- 
dition that,  if  an  appeal  were  made  to  the  electorate,  the 
Unionist  Party  would  bow  to  the  verdict  of  the  country. 
"  But  now,"  he  went  on,  "  after  the  way  in  which  advan- 
tage has  been  taken  of  your  patriotism,  I  say  to  you,  and 
I  say  it  with  the  full  authority  of  our  party,  we  give  the 
pledge  without  any  condition." 

During  the  two  days  which  he  spent  in  Belfast  Mr.  Bonar 
Law,  and  other  visitors  from  England,  paid  visits  to  the 
training  camps  at  Newcastle  and  Ballykinler,  where  the 
1st  Brigade  of  the  Ulster  Division  was  undergoing  training 
for  the  front.  Both  now,  and  for  some  time  to  come, 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  unworthy  political  jealousy  of  the 
Division,  which  showed  itself  in  a  tendency  to  belittle  the 
recruiting  figures  from  Ulster,  and  in  sneers  in  the  Nation- 
alist Press  at  the  delay  in  sending  to  the  front  a  body  of 
troops  whose  friends  had  advertised  their  supposed  effi- 
ciency before  the  war.  These  troops  were  themselves 
fretting  to  get  to  France  ;    and  they  believed,  rightly  or 


238  ULSTER   IN   THE   WAR 

wrongly,  that  political  intrigue  was  at  work  to  keep  them 
ingloriously  at  home,  while  other  Divisions,  lacking  their 
preliminary  training,  were  receiving  preference  in  the 
supply  of  equipment. 

One  small  circumstance,  arising  out  of  the  conditions  in 
which  "  Kitchener's  Army  "  had  to  be  raised,  afforded 
genuine  enjoyment  in  Ulster.  Men  were  enlisting  far  more 
rapidly  than  the  factories  could  provide  arms,  uniforms,  and 
other  equipment.  Rifles  for  teaching  the  recruits  to  drill 
and  manoeuvre  were  a  long  way  short  of  requirements.  It 
was  a  great  joy  to  the  Ulstermen  when  the  War  Office 
borrowed  their  much-ridiculed  "  dummy  rifles  "  and 
"  wooden  guns,"  and  took  them  to  English  training  camps 
for  use  by  the  "  New  Army." 

But  this  volume  is  not  concerned  with  the  conduct  of 
the  Great  War,  nor  is  it  necessary  to  enter  in  detail  into 
the  controversy  that  arose  as  to  the  efforts  of  the  rest  of 
Ireland,  in  comparison  with  those  of  Ulster,  to  serve  the 
Empire  in  the  hour  of  need.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  cite 
the  testimony  of  two  authorities,  neither  of  whom  can  be 
suspected  of  bias  on  the  side  of  Ulster.  The  chronicler  of 
the  Annual  Register  records  that  : 

"  In  Ulster,  as  in  England,  the  flow  of  recruits  outran  the 
provision  made  for  them  by  the  War  Office,  and  by  about 
the  middle  of  October  the  Protestant  districts  had  furnished 
some  21,000,  of  which  Belfast  alone  had  contributed  7,581, 
or  305  per  10,000  of  the  population — the  highest  proportion 
of  all  the  towns  in  the  United  Kingdom."  ^ 

The  second  witness  is  the  democratic  orator  who  took  a 
foremost  part  in  the  House  of  Comm.ons  in  denouncing  the 
Curragh  officers  who  resigned  their  Commissions  rather 
than  march  against  Ulster.  Colonel  John  Ward,  M.P., 
writing  two  years  after  the  war,  in  which  he  had  not  kept 
his  eyes  shut,  said  : 

"  It  would  be  presumptuous  for  a  mere  Englishman  to 
praise  the  gallantry  and  patriotism  of  Scotland,  Wales,  and 
Ulster  ;  their  record  stands  second  to  none  in  the  annals  of 
the   war.     The  case  of   the  South  of  Ireland,   her  most 

1  The  Annual  Register,  1914,  p.  259. 


1911]  RECORD   OF  THE   "TWO  NATIONS"       239 

ardent  admirer  will  admit,  is  not  as  any  other  in  the  whole 
British  Empire.  To  the  everlasting  credit  of  the  great 
leader  of  the  Irish  Nationalists,  Mr.  John  Redmond,  his 
gallant  son,  and  his  very  lovable  brother — together  with 
many  real,  great-souled  Irish  soldiers  whose  loss  we  so 
deeply  deplore — saw  the  light  and  followed  the  only  course 
open  to  good  men  and  true.  But  the  patriotism  and 
devotion  of  the  few  only  show  up  in  greater  and  more 
exaggerated  contrast  the  sullen  indifference  of  the  majority, 
and  the  active  hostility  of  the  minority,  who  would  have 
seen  our  country  and  its  people  overrun  and  defeated  not 
only  without  regret,  but  with  fiendish  delight."  ^ 

No  generous-minded  Ulsterman  would  wish  to  detract  a 
word  from  the  tribute  paid  by  Colonel  Ward  to  the  Red- 
mond family  and  other  gallant  Catholic  Nationalists  who 
stood  manfully  for  the  Empire  in  the  day  of  trial ;  but  the 
concluding  sentence  in  the  above  quotation  cannot  be 
gainsaid.  And  the  pathetic  thing  was  that  Mr.  Redmond 
himself  never  seems  to  have  understood  the  true  sentiments 
of  the  majority  of  those  who  had  been  his  followers  before 
the  war.  In  a  speech  in  the  House  on  the  15th  of  Septem- 
ber he  referred  contemptuously  to  a  "  little  group  of  men 
who  never  belonged  to  the  National  Constitutional  party, 
who  were  circulating  anti-recruiting  handbills  and  were 
publishing  little  wTetched  rags  once  a  week  or  once  a 
month,"  which  were  not  worth  a  moment's  notice. 

The  near  future  was  to  show  that  these  adherents  of  Sinn 
Fein  were  not  so  negligible  as  Mr.  Redmond  sincerely 
believed.  The  real  fact  was  that  his  own  patriotic  attitude 
at  the  outbreak  of  war  undermined  his  leadership  in  Ire- 
land. The  "  separatism "  which  had  always  been,  as 
Ulster  never  ceased  to  believe,  the  true  underlying,  though 
not  always  the  acknowledged,  motive  power  of  Irish 
Nationalism,  was  beginning  again  to  assert  itself,  and  to 
find  expression  in  "  handbills  "  and  "  wretched  rags."  It 
was  discovering  other  leaders  and  spokesmen  than  Mr. 
Redmond  and  his  party,  whom  it  was  destined  before  long 
to  sweep  utterly  away. 

1  "  The  Army  and  Ireland,"  Nineteenth  Century  and  After,  January 
1921,  by  Lieut. -Colonel  John  Ward,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  M.P. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

NEGOTIATIONS    FOR   SETTLEMENT 

The  position  in  which  Ulster  was  now  placed  was,  from  the 
political  point  of  view,  a  very  anxious  one.  Had  the  war 
not  broken  out  when  it  did,  there  was  a  very  prevalent 
belief  that  the  Government  could  not  have  avoided  a 
general  election  either  before,  or  immediately  after,  the 
placing  of  Home  Rule  on  the  Statute-book  ;  and  as  to  the 
result  of  such  an  election  no  Unionist  had  any  misgiving. 
Even  if  the  Government  had  remained  content  to  disregard 
the  electorate,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  them  to 
subject  Ulster  to  a  Dublin  Parliament.  The  organisation 
there  was  powerful  enough  to  prevent  it,  by  force  if  neces- 
sary, and  the  Curragh  Incident  had  proved  that  the  Army 
could  not  be  employed  against  the  Loyalists. 

But  the  whole  outlook  had  now  changed.  The  war  had 
put  off  all  thought  of  a  General  Election  till  an  indefinite 
future  ;  the  Ulster  Volunteers,  and  every  other  wheel  in  the 
very  effective  machinery  prepared  for  resistance  to  Home 
Rule,  were  now  diverted  to  a  wholly  different  purpose  ;  and 
at  the  same  time  the  hated  Bill  had  become  an  Act,  and  the 
only  alleviation  was  the  promise,  for  what  it  might  be  worth, 
of  an  Amending  Bill  the  scope  of  which  remained  undefined. 
While,  therefore,  the  Ulster  leaders  and  people  threw 
themselves  with  all  their  energy  into  the  patriotic  work  to 
which  the  war  gave  the  call,  the  situation  so  created  at 
home  caused  them  much  uneasiness. 

No  one  felt  it  more  than  Lord  Londonderry.  Indeed,  as 
the  autumn  of  1914  wore  on,  the  despondency  he  fell  into 
was  so  marked  that  his  friends  could  not  avoid  disquietude 
on  his  personal  account  in  addition  to  all  the  other  grounds 
for  anxiety.  He  and  Lady  Londonderry,  it  is  true,  took  a 
leading  part  in  all  the  activities  to  which  the  war  gave  rise 

240 


1915]  DEATH  OF  LORD   LONDONDERRY  241 

— encouraging  recruiting,  organising  hospitals,  and  making 
provision  of  every  kind  for  soldiers  and  their  dependents,  in 
Ulster  and  in  the  County  of  Durham.  But  when  in  London 
in  November,  Lord  Londonderry  would  sit  moodily  at  the 
Carlton  Club,  speaking  to  few  except  intimate  friends,  and 
apparently  overcome  by  depression.  He  was  pessimistic 
about  the  war.  His  only  son  was  at  the  front,  and  he 
seemed  persuaded  he  would  never  return.  The  affairs  of 
Ulster,  to  which  he  had  given  his  whole  heart,  looked 
black  ;  and  he  went  about  as  if  all  his  purpose  in  life  was 
gone.  He  went  with  Lady  Londonderry  to  Mount  Stewart 
for  Christmas,  and  one  or  two  intimate  friends  who  visited 
him  there  in  January  1915  were  greatly  disturbed  in  mind 
on  his  account.  But  the  public  in  Belfast,  who  saw  him 
going  in  and  out  of  the  Ulster  Club  as  usual,  did  not  know 
anything  was  amiss,  and  were  terribly  shocked  as  well  as 
grieved  when  they  heard  of  his  sudden  death  at  Wynyard 
on  the  8th  of  February. 

The  death  of  Lord  Londonderry  was  felt  by  many  thou- 
sands in  Ulster  as  a  personal  bereavement.  If  he  did  not 
arouse  the  unbounded,  and  almost  delirious,  devotion 
which  none  but  Sir  Edward  Carson  ever  evoked  in  the 
North  of  Ireland,  the  deep  respect  and  warm  affection  felt 
towards  him  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  by  great  numbers 
who  did  not,  was  a  tribute  which  his  modesty  and  integrity 
of  character  and  genial  friendliness  of  disposition  richly 
deserved.  He  was  faithfully  described  by  Carson  himself 
to  the  LTlster  Unionist  Council  several  months  after  his 
death  as  "a  great  leader,  a  great  and  devoted  public 
servant,  a  great  patriot,  a  great  gentleman,  and  above  all 
the  greatest  of  great  friends." 

Ulster,  meantime,  had  already  had  a  foretaste  of  the 
sacrifices  the  war  was  to  demand  when  the  Division  should 
go  to  the  front.  In  November  1914  Captain  the  Hon. 
Arthur  O'Neill,  M.P.  for  Mid  Antrim,  who  had  gone  to  the 
front  with  the  first  expeditionary  force,  was  killed  in  action 
in  France.  There  was  a  certain  sense  of  sad  pride  in  the 
reflection  that  the  first  member  of  the  House  of  Commons 
to  give  his  life  for  King  and  country  was  a  representative 
of  Ulster ;   and  the  constituency  which  suffered  the  loss  of 


242  NEGOTIATIONS   FOR   SETTLEMENT 

a  promising  young  member  by  the  death  of  this  gallant 
Life  Guardsman  consoled  itself  by  electing  in  his  place  his 
younger  brother,  Major  Hugh  O'Neill,  then  serving  in  the 
Ulster  Division,  who  afterwards  proved  himself  a  most 
valuable  member  of  the  Ulster  Parliamentary  Party,  and 
eventually  became  the  first  Speaker  of  the  Ulster  Parlia- 
ment created  by  the  Act  of  1920. 

Notwithstanding  the  bitter  outbreak  of  party  passion 
caused  by  the  Government's  action  in  putting  the  Home 
Rule  Bill  on  the  Statute-book  in  September,  the  party  truce 
was  well  maintained  throughout  the  autumn  and  winter. 
And  the  most  striking  proof  of  the  transformation  wrought 
by  the  war  was  seen  when  Mr.  Asquith,  when  constrained 
to  form  a  truly  national  Administration  in  May  1915, 
included  Sir  Edward  Carson  in  his  Cabinet  with  the  office 
of  Attorney- General.  Mr.  Redmond  was  at  the  same  time 
invited  to  Join  the  Government,  and  his  refusal  to  do  so 
when  the  British  Unionists,  the  Labour  leaders,  and  the 
Ulster  leaders  all  responded  to  the  Prime  Minister's  appeal 
to  their  patriotism,  did  not  appear  in  the  eyes  of  Ulstermen 
to  confirm  the  Nationalist  leader's  profession  of  loyalty  to 
the  Empire;  though  they  did  him  the  justice  of  believing 
that  he  would  have  accepted  office  if  he  had  felt  free  to 
follow  his  own  inclination.  His  inability  to  do  so,  and  the 
complaints  of  his  followers,  including  Mr.  Dillon,  at  the 
admission  of  Carson  to  the  Cabinet,  revealed  the  incapacity 
of  the  Nationalists  to  rise  to  a  level  above  party. 

Carson,  however,  did  not  remain  very  long  in  the  Govern- 
ment. Disapproving  of  the  policy  pursued  in  relation  to 
our  Allies  in  the  Balkans,  he  resigned  on  the  20th  of  October, 
1915.  But  he  had  remained  long  enough  to  prove  his 
value  in  council  to  the  most  energetic  of  his  colleagues  in 
the  Cabinet.  Men  like  Mr.  Churchill  and  Mr.  Lloyd  George, 
although  they  had  been  the  bitterest  of  Carson's  opponents 
eighteen  months  previously,  seldom  omitted  from  this 
time  forward  to  seek  his  advice  in  times  of  difficulty  ;  and 
the  latter  of  these  two,  when  things  were  going  badly  with 
the  Allies  more  than  a  year  later,  endeavoured  to  persuade 
Mr.  Asquith  to  include  Carson  in  a  Committee  of  four  to 
be  charged  with  the  entire  conduct  of  the  war. 


1916]  THE   EASTER  REBELLION  243 

It  was,  perhaps,  fortunate  that  the  Ulster  leader  was  not 
a  member  of  the  Government  when  the  rebellion  broke  out 
in  the  South  of  Ireland  at  Easter  1916.  For  this  event 
suddenly  brought  to  the  front  again  the  whole  Home  Rule 
question,  which  everybody  had  hoped  might  be  allowed 
to  sleep  till  the  end  of  the  war  ;  and  it  would  have  been  a 
misfortune  if  Carson  had  not  then  been  in  a  position  of 
independence  to  play  his  part  in  this  new  act  of  the  Irish 
drama. 

The  Government  had  many  warnings  of  what  was  brew- 
ing. But  Mr.  Birrell,  the  Chief  Secretary,  who  in  frivolity 
seemed  a  contemporary  embodiment  of  Nero,  deemed 
cheap  wit  a  sufficient  reply  to  all  remonstrances,  and  had 
to  confess  afterwards  that  he  had  utterly  miscalculated  the 
forces  with  which  he  had  to  deal.  He  was  completely 
taken  by  surprise  when,  on  the  20th  of  April,  an  attempt 
to  land  weapons  from  a  German  vessel,  escorted  by  a 
submarine  from  which  Sir  Roger  Casement  landed  in  the 
West  of  Ireland,  proved  that  the  Irish  rebels  were  in  league 
with  the  enemy  ;  and  even  after  this  ominous  event,  he 
did  nothing  to  provide  against  the  outbreak  that  occurred 
in  Dublin  four  days  later.  The  rising  in  the  capital,  and 
in  several  other  places  in  the  South  of  Ireland,  was  not 
got  under  for  a  week,  during  which  time  more  than  170 
houses  had  been  burnt,  £2,000,000  sterling  worth  of  pro- 
perty destroyed  or  damaged,  and  1,315  casualties  had  been 
suffered,  of  which  304  were  fatal. 

The  aims  of  the  insurgents  were  disclosed  in  a  proclama- 
tion which  referred  to  the  administration  in  Ireland  as  a 
"  long  usurpation  by  a  foreign  people  and  government." 
It  declared  that  the  Irish  Republican  Brotherhood — the 
same  organisation  that  planned  and  carried  out  the 
Phcenix  Park  murders  in  1882 — had  now  seized  the  right 
moment  for  "  reviving  the  old  traditions  of  Irish  nation- 
hood," and  announced  that  the  new  Irish  Republic  was  a 
sovereign  independent  State,  which  was  entitled  to  claim 
the  allegiance  of  every  Irish  man  and  woman. 

The  rebellion  was  the  subject  of  debates  in  both  Houses 
of  Parliament  on  the  10th  and  11th  of  May— Mr.  Birrell 
having  in  the  interval,  to  use  a  phrase  of  Carlyle's,  "  taken 


244  NEGOTIATIONS   FOR   SETTLEMENT 

himself  and  his  incompetence  elsewhere" — when  Mr.  Dillon, 
speaking  for  the  Nationalist  Party,  poured  forth  a  flood  of 
passionate  sympathy  with  the  rebels,  declaring  that  he  was 
proud  of  youths  who  could  boast  of  having  slaughtered 
British  soldiers,  and  he  denounced  the  Government  for 
suppressing  the  rising  in  "  a  sea  of  blood."  The  actual 
fact  was,  that  out  of  a  large  number  of  prisoners  taken  red- 
handed  in  the  act  of  armed  rebellion  who  were  condemned 
to  death  after  trial  by  court-martial,  the  great  majority 
were  reprieved,  and  thirteen  in  all  were  executed.  Whether 
such  measures  deserved  the  frightful  description  coined  by 
Mr.  Dillon's  flamboyant  rhetoric  everybody  can  judge  for 
himself,  after  considering  whether  in  any  other  country 
or  at  any  other  period  of  the  world's  history,  active 
assistance  of  a  foreign  enemy — for  that  is  what  it 
amounted  to — has  been  visited  with  a  more  lenient  retri- 
bution. 

On  the  same  day  that  Mr.  Dillon  thus  justified  the  whole 
basis  of  Ulster's  unchanging  attitude  towards  Nationalism 
by  blurting  out  his  sympathy  with  England's  enemies, 
Mr.  Asquith  announced  that  he  was  himself  going  to  Ireland 
to  investigate  matters  on  the  spot.  These  two  events,  Mr. 
Dillon's  speech  and  the  Prime  Minister's  visit  to  Dublin — 
where  he  certainly  exhibited  no  stern  anger  against  the 
rebels,  even  if  the  stories  were  exaggerated  which  reported 
him  to  have  shown  them  ostentatious  friendliness — went 
far  to  transform  what  had  been  a  wretched  fiasco  into  a 
success.  Cowed  at  first  by  their  complete  failure,  the 
rebels  found  encouragement  in  the  complacency  of  the 
Prime  Minister,  and  the  fear  or  sympathy,  whichever  it 
was,  of  the  Nationalist  Party.  From  that  moment  they 
rapidly  increased  in  influence,  until  they  proved  two  years 
later  that  they  had  become  the  predominant  power  all  over 
Ireland  except  in  Ulster. 

In  Ulster  the  rebellion  was  regarded  with  mixed  feelings. 
The  strongest  sentiment  was  one  of  horror  at  the  treacherous 
blow  dealt  to  the  Empire  while  engaged  in  a  life-and-death 
struggle  with  a  foreign  enemy.  But,  was  it  unpardonably 
Pharisaic  if  there  was  also  some  self-glorification  in  the 
thought  that  Ulstermen  in  this  respect  were  not  as  other 


1916]  WHAT   MR.   ASQUITH   LEARNT  245 

men  were  ?  There  was  also  a  prevalent  feeling  that  after 
what  had  occurred  they  would  hear  no  more  of  Home  Rule, 
at  any  rate  during  the  war.  It  appeared  inconceivable 
that  any  sane  Government  could  think  of  handing  over  the 
control  of  Ireland  in  time  of  war  to  people  who  had  just 
proved  their  active  hostility  to  Great  Britain  in  so  un- 
mistakable a  fashion. 

But  they  were  soon  undeceived.  Mr.  Asquith,  on  his 
return,  told  the  House  of  Commons  what  he  had  learnt 
during  his  few  days'  sojourn  in  Ireland.  His  first  proposi- 
tion was  that  the  existing  machinery  of  Government  in 
Ireland  had  completely  broken  down.  That  was  undeni- 
able. It  was  the  natural  fruit  of  the  Birrell  regime.  Mr. 
Asquith  was  himself  responsible  for  it.  But  no  more 
strange  or  illogical  conclusion  could  be  drawn  from  it  than 
that  which  Mr.  Asquith  proceeded  to  propound.  This  was 
that  there  was  now  "  a  unique  opportunity  for  a  new 
departure  for  the  settlement  of  outstanding  problems  " — 
which,  when  translated  from  Asquithian  into  plain  English, 
meant  that  now  was  the  time  for  Home  Rule.  The  pledge 
to  postpone  the  question  till  after  the  war  was  to  be  swept 
aside,  and,  instead  of  building  up  by  sound  and  sensible 
administration  what  Mr.  Birrell's  abnegation  of  govern- 
ment had  allowed  to  crumble  into  "  breakdown,"  the 
rebels  were  to  be  rewarded  for  traffic  with  the  enemy  and 
destruction  of  the  central  parts  of  Dublin,  with  great  loss  of 
life,  by  being  allowed  to  point  to  the  triumphant  success 
of  their  activity,  which  was  certain  to  prove  the  most  effec- 
tive of  all  possible  propaganda  for  their  political  ideals  in 
Ireland. 

Some  regard,  however,  was  still  to  be  paid  to  the  promise 
of  an  Amending  Bill.  The  Prime  Minister  repeated  that 
no  one  contemplated  the  coercion  of  Ulster  ;  that  an  at- 
tempt must  be  made  to  come  to  agreement  about  the  terms 
on  which  the  Home  Rule  Act  could  be  brought  into  imme- 
diate operation  ;  and  that  the  Cabinet  had  deputed  to 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  the  task  of  negotiating  to  this  end  with 
both  parties  in  Ireland.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  then 
Secretary  of  State  for  War,  interviewed  Sir  Edward  Carson 
on  the  one  hand  and  Mr.  Redmond  and  Mr.  Devlin  on  the 


246  NEGOTIATIONS   FOR   SETTLEMENT 

other,  and  submitted  to  them  separately  the  proposals 
which  he  said  the  Cabinet  were  prepared  to  make.^ 

On  the  6th  of  June  Carson  explained  the  Cabinet's  pro- 
posals at  a  special  meeting  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council 
held  in  private.  His  task  was  an  extremely  difficult  one, 
for  the  advice  he  had  to  offer  was  utterly  detestable  to 
himself,  and  he  knew  it  would  be  no  less  so  to  his  hearers. 
And  the  latter,  profound  as  was  their  trust  in  him  as  their 
leader,  were  men  of  singularly  independent  judgment  and 
quite  capable  of  respectfully  declining  to  take  any  course 
they  did  not  themselves  approve.  Indeed,  Carson  em- 
phasised the  fact  that  he  could  not,  and  had  not  attempted 
to,  bind  the  Council  to  take  the  same  view  of  the  situation 
as  himself.  At  the  same  time  he  clearly  and  frankly 
stated  what  his  own  opinion  was,  saying  :  "I  would  indeed 
be  a  poor  leader  of  a  great  movement  if  I  hesitated  to 
express  my  own  views  of  any  proposition  put  before  you."  2 

His  speech,  which  took  nearly  two  hours  in  delivery,  was 
a  perfect  model  of  lucid  exposition  and  convincing  argu- 
ment. He  reviewed  in  close  detail  the  course  of  events 
that  had  led  to  the  present  situation.  He  maintained  from 
first  to  last  the  highest  ground  of  patriotism.  Mentioning 
that  numerous  correspondents  had  asked  why  he  did  not 
challenge  the  Nationalist  professions  of  loyalty  two  years 
before  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  which  had  since  then 
been  so  signally  falsified,  he  answered  : 

"  Because  I  had  no  desire  to  show  a  dissentient  Ireland 
to  the  Germans.  I  am  glad,  even  with  what  has  happened, 
that  we  played  the  game,  and  if  we  had  to  do  it  again  we 
would  play  the  game.  And  then  suddenly  came  the  re- 
bellion in  Dublin.  I  cannot  find  words  to  describe  my  own 
horror  when  I  heard  of  it.  For  I  am  bound  to  admit  to 
you  that  I  was  not  thinking  merely  of  Ulster  ;  I  was  think- 
ing of  the  war  ;  I  was  thinking,  as  I  am  always  thinking, 
of  what  will  happen  if  we  are  beaten  in  the  war.     I  was 

^  Mr.  Lloyd  George's  memory  was  at  fault  when  he  said  in  the  House 
of  Commons  on  the  7th  of  February,  1922,  t?iat  on  the  occasion  referred 
to  in  the  text  he  had  seen  Sir  Edward  Carson  and  Mr.  Redmond  together. 

2  The  quotations  from  this  speech,  which  was  never  published,  are 
from  a  report  privately  taken  by  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council. 


1916]       CARSON'S   SPEECH   TO   THE   COUNCIL         247 

thinking  of  the  sacrifice  of  human  lives  at  the  front,  and  in 
Gallipoli,  and  at  Kut,  when  suddenly  I  heard  that  the 
whole  thing  was  interrupted  by,  forsooth,  an  Irish  rebel- 
lion— by  what  Mr.  Dillon  in  the  House  of  Commons  called 
a  clean  fight  !  It  is  not  Ulster  or  Ireland  that  is  now  at 
stake  :  it  is  the  British  Empire.  We  have  therefore  to 
consider  not  merely  a  local  problem,  but  a  great  Imperial 
problem — how  to  win  the  war." 

He  then  outlined  the  representations  that  had  been 
made  to  him  by  the  Cabinet  as  to  the  injury  to  the  Allied 
cause  resulting  from  the  unsettled  Irish  question— the 
disturbance  of  good  relations  with  the  United  States, 
whence  we  were  obtaining  vast  quantities  of  munitions  ; 
the  bad  effect  of  our  local  differences  on  opinion  in  Allied 
and  neutral  countries.  He  admitted  that  these  evil 
effects  were  largely  due  to  false  and  hostile  propaganda  to 
which  the  British  Government  weakly  neglected  to  provide 
an  antidote  ;  he  believed  they  were  grossly  exaggerated. 
But  in  time  of  war  they  could  not  contend  with  their  own 
Government  nor  be  deaf  to  its  appeals,  especially  when  that 
Government  contained  all  their  own  party  leaders,  on  whose 
support  they  had  hitherto  leaned. 

One  of  Carson's  chief  difficulties  was  to  make  men  grasp 
the  significance  of  the  fact  that  Home  Rule  was  now  actu- 
ally established  by  Act  of  Parliament.  The  point  that  the 
Act  was  on  the  Statute-book  was  constantly  lost  sight  of, 
with  all  that  it  implied.  He  drove  home  the  unwelcome 
truth  that  simple  repeal  of  that  Act  was  not  practical 
politics.  The  only  hope  for  Ulster  to  escape  going  under  a 
Parliament  in  Dublin  lay  in  the  promised  Amending  Bill. 
But  they  had  no  assurance  how  much  that  Bill,  when  pro- 
duced, would  do  for  them.  Was  it  likely,  he  asked,  to  do 
more  than  was  now  offered  by  the  Government  ? 

He  then  told  the  Council  what  Mr.  Lloyd  George's  pro- 
posals were.  The  Cabinet  offered  on  the  one  hand  a  "  clean 
cut,"  not  indeed  of  the  whole  of  Ulster,  but  of  the  six  most 
Protestant  counties,  and  on  the  other  to  bring  the  Home 
Rule  Act,  so  modified,  into  immediate  operation.  He 
pointed  out  that  none  of  them  could  contemplate  using  the 
U.V.F.  for  fighting  purposes  at  home  after  the  war ;  and 
17 


248  NEGOTIATIONS   FOR  SETTLEMENT 

that,  even  if  such  a  thing  were  thinkable,  they  could  not 
expect  to  get  more  by  forcible  resistance  to  the  Act  than 
what  was  now  offered  by  legislation. 

But  to  Carson  himself,  and  to  all  who  listened  to  him 
that  day,  the  heartrending  question  was  whether  they 
could  suffer  a  separation  to  be  made  between  the  Loyalists 
in  the  six  counties  and  those  in  the  other  three  counties  of 
the  Province.  It  could  only  be  done,  Carson  declared,  if, 
after  considering  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  as  he 
unfolded  it  to  them,  the  delegates  from  Cavan,  Monaghan, 
and  Donegal  could  make  the  self-sacrifice  of  releasing  the 
other  counties  from  the  obligation  to  stand  or  fall  together. 
Carson  ended  by  saying  that  he  did  not  intend  to  take  a 
vote — he  "  could  be  no  party  to  having  Ulstermen  vote  one 
against  the  other."  What  was  to  be  done  must  be  done  by 
agreement,  or  not  at  all.  He  offered  to  confer  separately 
with  the  delegates  from  the  three  omitted  counties,  and 
the  Council  adjourned  till  the  12th  of  June  to  enable  this 
conference  to  be  held. 

In  the  interval  a  large  number  of  the  delegates  held 
meetings  of  their  local  associations,  most  of  which  passed 
resolutions  in  favour  of  accepting  the  Government's  pro- 
posals. But  there  was  undoubtedly  a  widespread  feeling 
that  it  would  be  a  betrayal  of  the  Loyalists  of  Cavan, 
Monaghan,  and  Donegal,  and  even  a  positive  breach  of  the 
Covenant,  to  accept  exclusion  from  the  Home  Rule  Act 
for  only  a  portion  of  Ulster.  This  was,  it  is  true,  a  mis- 
understanding of  the  strict  meaning  of  the  Covenant,  which 
had  been  expressly  conditioned  so  as  not  to  extend  to  such 
unforeseen  circumstances  as  the  war  had  brought  about  ^ ; 
but  there  was  a  general  desire  to  avoid  if  possible  taking 
technical  points,  and  both  Carson  himself  and  the  Council 
were  ready  to  sacrifice  the  opportunity  for  a  tolerable 
settlement  should  the  representatives  of  the  three  counties 
not  freely  consent  to  what  was  proposed. 

In  a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  which  deeply  touched  every 

member  of  the  Council,  this  consent  was  given.     Carson 

had  obtained  leave  for  Lord  Farnham  to  return  from  the 

Army  in   France   to   be   present   at   the   meeting.     Lord 

^  See  ante,  p.  106. 


1916]         LORD   FARNHAM'S   SELF-SACRIFICE  249 

Farnham,  as  a  delegate  from  Cavan,  made  a  speech  at  the 
adjourned  meeting  on  the  12th  which  filled  his  hearers 
with  admiration.  That  he  was  almost  heart-broken  by  the 
turn  events  had  taken  he  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  ; 
and  his  distress  was  shared  by  those  who  heard  his  moving 
words.  But  he  showed  that  he  possessed  the  instinct  of 
statesmanship  which  compelled  him  to  recognise,  in  spite 
of  the  powerful  pull  of  sentiment  and  self-interest  in  the 
opposite  direction,  that  the  course  recommended  by  Carson 
was  the  path  of  wisdom.  With  breaking  voice  he  thanked 
the  latter  "  for  the  clearness,  and  the  fairness,  and  the  man- 
liness with  which  he  has  put  the  deplorable  situation  that 
has  arisen  before  us,  and  for  his  manly  advice  as  leader  "  ; 
and  he  then  read  a  resolution  that  had  been  passed  earlier 
in  the  day  by  the  delegates  of  the  three  counties,  which, 
after  recording  a  protest  against  any  settlement  excluding 
them  from  Ulster,  expressed  sorrowful  acquiescence,  on 
grounds  of  the  larger  patriotism,  in  whatever  decision  might 
be  come  to  in  the  matter  by  their  colleagues  from  the  six 
counties. 

It  was  the  saddest  hour  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  ever 
spent.  Men  not  prone  to  emotion  shed  tears.  It  was  the 
most  poignant  ordeal  the  Ulster  leader  ever  passed  through. 
But  it  was  just  one  of  those  occasions  when  far-seeing 
statesmanship  demands  the  ruthless  silencing  of  prompt- 
ings that  spring  from  emotion.  Many  of  those  who  on  that 
terrible  12th  of  June  were  most  torn  by  doubt  as  to  the 
necessity  for  the  decision  arrived  at,  realised  before  long 
that  their  leader  had  never  been  guided  by  surer  insight 
than  in  the  counsel  he  gave  them  that  day. 

The  Resolution  adopted  by  the  Council  was  a  lengthy 
one.  After  reciting  the  unaltered  attachment  of  Ulster 
to  the  Union,  it  placed  on  record  the  appeal  that  had  been 
made  by  the  Government  on  patriotic  grounds  for  a  settle- 
ment of  the  Irish  difficulty,  which  the  Council  did  not 
think  it  right  at  such  a  time  of  national  emergency  to  resist ; 
but  it  was  careful  to  reserve,  in  case  the  negotiations 
should  break  down  from  any  other  cause,  complete  freedom 
to  revert  to  "  opposition  to  the  whole  policy  of  Home  Rule 
for  Ireland." 


250  NEGOTIATIONS   FOR   SETTLEMENT 

Meantime  the  Nationalist  leaders  had  been  submitting 
Mr.  Lloyd  George's  proposals  to  their  own  people,  and  on 
the  10th  of  June  Mr.  Redmond  made  a  speech  in  Dublin 
from  which  it  appeared  that  he  was  submitting  a  very 
different  proposal  to  that  explained  by  Carson  in  Belfast. 
For  Mr.  Redmond  told  his  Dublin  audience  that,  while  the 
Home  Rule  Act  was  to  come  into  operation  at  once,  the 
exclusion  of  the  six  counties  was  to  be  only  for  the  period 
of  the  war  and  tv/elve  months  afterwards.  That  would, 
of  course,  have  been  even  less  favourable  to  Ulster  than 
the  terms  offered  by  Mr.  Asquith  and  rejected  by  Carson 
in  March  1914.  Exclusion  for  the  period  of  the  war  meant 
nothing  ;  it  would  have  been  useless  to  Ulster  ;  it  was  no 
concession  whatever  ;  and  Carson  would  have  refused,  as 
he  did  in  1914,  even  to  submit  it  to  the  Unionist  Council  in 
Belfast.  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  who  must  have  known  this,  had 
told  him  quite  clearly  that  there  was  to  be  a  "  definite 
clean  cut,"  with  no  suggestion  of  a  time  limit.  There  was, 
however,  an  idea  that  after  the  war  an  Imperial  Conference 
would  be  held,  at  which  the  whole  constitutional  relations 
of  the  component  nations  of  the  British  Empire  would  be 
reviewed,  and  that  the  permanent  status  of  Ireland  would 
then  come  under  reconsideration  with  the  rest.  In  this 
sense  the  arrangement  now  proposed  was  spoken  of  as 
"  provisional "  ;  but  both  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  the 
Prime  Minister  made  it  perfectly  plain  that  the  proposed 
exclusion  of  the  six  Ulster  counties  from  Home  Rule 
could  never  be  reversed  except  by  a  fresh  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment. 

But  when  the  question  was  raised  by  Mr.  Redmond  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  24th  of  July,  in  a  speech  of 
marked  moderation,  he  explained  that  he  had  understood 
the  exclusion,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  scheme,  to  be  strictly 
"  provisional,"  with  the  consequence  that  it  would  come 
to  an  end  automatically  at  the  end  of  the  specified  period 
unless  prolonged  by  new  legislation  ;  and  he  refused  to 
respond  to  an  earnest  appeal  by  Mr.  Asquith  not  to  let 
slip  this  opportunity  of  obtaining,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Unionist  Party,  immediate  Home  Rule  for  the  greater 
part  of  Ireland,  more  especially  as  Mr.  Redmond  himself 


1916]  THE   PENALTY   OF   LOYALTY  251 

had  disclaimed  any  desire  to  bring  Ulster  within  the  Home 
Rule  jurisdiction  ^vithout  her  own  consent. 

The  negotiations  for  settlement  thus  fell  to  the  ground, 
and  the  bitter  sacrifice  which  Ulster  had  brought  herself 
to  offer,  in  response  to  the  Government's  urgent  appeal, 
bore  no  fruit,  unless  it  was  to  afford  one  more  proof  of  her 
loyalty  to  England  and  the  Empire.  She  Avas  to  find  that 
such  proofs  were  for  the  most  part  thrown  away,  and 
merely  were  used  by  her  enemies,  and  by  some  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  her  friends,  as  a  starting-point  for  demands  on 
her  for  further  concessions.  But,  although  all  British 
parties  in  turn  did  their  best  to  impress  upon  Ulster  that 
loyalty  did  not  pay,  she  never  succeeded  in  learning  the 
lesson  sufficiently  to  be  guided  by  it  in  her  political  conduct. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

THE   IRISH   CONVENTION 

After  the  failure  of  Mr.  Lloyd  George's  negotiations  for 
settlement  in  the  summer  of  1916  the  Nationalists  practi- 
cally dropped  all  pretence  of  helping  the  Government  to 
carry  on  the  war.  They  were,  no  doubt,  beginning  to 
realise  how  completely  they  were  losing  hold  of  the  people 
of  Southern  Ireland,  and  that  the  only  chance  of  regaining 
their  vanishing  popularity  was  by  an  attitude  of  hostility 
to  the  British  Government. 

Frequently  during  the  autumn  and  winter  they  raised 
debates  in  Parliament  on  the  demand  that  the  Home 
Rule  Act  should  immediately  come  into  operation,  and 
threatened  that  if  this  were  not  done  recruits  from  Ireland 
would  not  be  forthcoming,  although  the  need  for  men  was 
now  a  matter  of  great  national  urgency.  They  ignored 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Redmond  was  a  consenting  party  to 
Mr.  Asquith's  policy  of  holding  Home  Rule  in  abeyance  till 
after  the  war,  and  attempted  to  explain  away  their  own 
loss  of  influence  in  Ireland  by  alleging  that  the  exaspera- 
tion of  the  Irish  people  at  the  delay  in  obtaining  "  self- 
government  "  was  the  cause  of  their  alienation  from  Eng- 
land, and  of  the  growth  of  Sinn  Fein. 

In  December  1916  the  Asquith  Government  came  to  an 
end,  and  Mr.  Lloyd  George  became  Prime  Minister-  He 
had  shown  his  estimate  of  Sir  Edward  Carson's  statesman- 
ship by  pressing  Mr.  Asquith  to  entrust  the  entire  conduct 
of  the  war  to  a  Committee  of  four,  of  whom  the  Ulster 
leader  should  be  one  ;  and,  having  failed  in  this  attempt  to 
infuse  energy  and  decision  into  the  counsels  of  his  Chief, 
he  turned  him  out  and  formed  a  Ministry  with  Carson  in 
the  office  of  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  at  that  time  one 
of  the   most   vital   in   the   Government.     Colonel   James 

252 


1917]  WILLIAM  REDMOND'S  SPEECH  AND  DEATH  253 

Craig  also  joined  the  Ministry  as  Treasurer  of  the  House- 
hold. 

The  change  of  Government  did  nothing  to  alter  the 
attitude  of  the  Nationalists,  unless,  indeed,  the  return  of 
Carson  to  high  office  added  to  the  fierceness  of  their  attacks. 
On  the  26th  of  February  1917 — just  when  "  unrestricted 
submarine  warfare  "  was  bringing  the  country  into  its 
greatest  peril — Mr.  Dillon  called  upon  the  Government  to 
release  twenty-eight  men  who  had  been  deported  from 
Ireland,  and  who  were  declared  by  Mr.  Duke,  the  Chief 
Secretary,  to  have  been  deeply  implicated  in  the  Easter 
rebellion  of  the  previous  year  ;  and  a  week  later  Mr.  T.  P. 
O'Connor  returned  to  the  charge  with  another  demand 
for  Home  Rule  without  further  ado. 

The  debate  on  Mr.  O'Connor's  motion  on  the  7th  of 
March  was  made  memorable  by  the  speech  of  Major  William 
Redmond,  home  on  leave  from  the  trenches  in  France, 
whose  sincere  and  impassioned  appeal  for  oblivion  of  old 
historic  quarrels  between  Irish  Catholics  and  Protestants, 
who  were  at  that  moment  fighting  and  dying  side  by  side 
in  France,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  House  of  Com- 
mons and  the  country.  And  when  this  gallant  officer  fell 
in  action  not  long  afterwards  and  was  carried  out  of  the 
firing  line  by  Ulster  soldiers,  his  speech  on  the  7th  of  March 
was  recalled  and  made  the  peg  on  which  to  hang  many 
adjurations  to  Ulster  to  come  into  line  with  their  National- 
ist fellow-countrymen  of  the  South. 

Such  appeals  revealed  a  curious  inability  to  grasp  the 
realities  of  the  situation.  Men  spoke  and  wrote  as  if  it 
were  something  new  and  wonderful  for  Irishmen  of  the 
"  two  nations  "  to  be  found  fighting  side  by  side  in  the 
British  Army — as  if  the  same  thing  had  not  been  seen  in  the 
Peninsula,  in  the  Crimea,  on  the  Indian  frontier,  in  South 
Africa,  and  in  many  another  fight.  Ulstermen,  like  every- 
body else  who  knew  Major  Redmond,  deplored  the  loss  of 
a  very  gallant  officer  and  a  very  lovable  man.  But  they 
could  not  understand  why  his  death  should  be  made  a 
reason  for  a  change  in  their  political  convictions.  When 
Major  Arthur  O'Neill,  an  Ulster  member,  was  killed  in 
action  in  1914,  no  one  had   suggested  that  Nationalists 


254  THE   IRISH   CONVENTION 

should  on  that  account  turn  Unionists.  Why,  they 
wondered,  should  Unionists  any  more  turn  Nationalists 
because  a  Nationalist  M.P.  had  made  the  same  supreme 
sacrifice  ?  All  this  sentimental  talk  of  that  time  was 
founded  on  the  misconception  that  Ulster's  attachment  to 
the  Union  was  the  result  of  personal  prejudice  against 
Catholics  of  the  South,  instead  of  being,  as  it  was,  a  deli- 
berate and  reasoned  conviction  as  to  the  best  government 
for  Ireland. 

This  distinction  was  clearly  brought  out  in  the  same 
debate  by  Sir  John  Lonsdale,  who,  when  Carson  became 
a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  had  been  elected  leader  of  the 
Ulster  Party  in  the  House  of  Commons  ;  and  an  emphatic 
pronouncement,  which  went  to  the  root  of  the  controversy, 
was  made  in  reply  to  the  Nationalists  by  the  Prime  Minister. 
In  the  north-eastern  portion  of  Ireland,  he  said  : 

"  You  have  a  population  as  hostile  to  Irish  rule  as  the 
rest  of  Ireland  is  to  British  rule,  yea,  and  as  ready  to  rebel 
against  it  as  the  rest  of  Ireland  is  against  British  rule — 
as  alien  in  blood,  in  religious  faith,  in  traditions,  in  outlook 
■ — as  alien  from  the  rest  of  Ireland  in  this  respect  as  the 
inhabitants  of  Fife  or  Aberdeen.  To  place  them  under 
National  rule  against  their  will  would  be  as  glaring  an  out- 
rage on  the  principles  of  liberty  and  self-government  as 
the  denial  of  self-government  would  be  for  the  rest  of 
Ireland." 

The  Government  were,  therefore,  prepared,  said  Mr. 
Lloyd  George,  to  bring  in  Home  Rule  immediately  for  that 
part  of  Ireland  that  wanted  it,  but  not  for  the  Northern 
part  which  did  not  want  it.  Mr.  Redm.ond  made  a  fine 
display  of  indignation  at  this  refusal  to  coerce  Ulster  ;  and, 
in  imitation  of  the  Unionists  in  1914,  marched  out  of  the 
House  at  the  head  of  his  party.  Next  day  he  issued  a 
manifesto  to  men  of  Irish  blood  in  the  United  States  and 
in  the  Dominions,  calling  on  them  to  use  all  means  in  their 
power  to  exert  pressure  on  the  British  Government.  It 
was  clear  that  this  sort  of  thing  could  not  be  tolerated  in 
the  middle  of  a  war  in  which  Great  Britain  was  fighting  for 
her  life,  and  at  a  crisis  in  it  when  her  fortunes  were  far  from 
prosperous.     Accordingly,  on  the  16th  of  March  Mr.  Bonar 


1917]  ALTERNATIVE   PROPOSALS  255 

Law  warned  the  Nationalists  that  their  conduct  might 
make  it  necessary  to  appeal  to  the  country  on  the  ground 
that  they  were  obstructing  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 
But  he  also  announced  that  the  Cabinet  intended  to  make 
one  more  attempt  to  arrive  at  a  settlement  of  the  apparently 
insoluble  problem  of  Irish  government. 

Two  months  passed  before  it  was  made  known  how  this 
attempt  was  to  be  made.  On  the  16th  of  May  the  Prime 
Minister  addressed  a  letter  in  duplicate  to  Mr.  Redmond 
and  Sir  John  Lonsdale,  representing  the  two  Irish  parties 
respectively,  in  which  he  put  forward  for  their  consideration 
two  alternative  methods  of  procedure,  after  premising  that 
the  Government  felt  precluded  from  proposing  during  the 
war  any  measures  except  such  as  "  would  be  substantially 
accepted  by  both  sides." 

These  alternatives  were  :  (a)  a  "  Bill  for  the  immediate 
application  of  the  Home  Rule  Act  to  Ireland,  but  excluding 
therefrom  the  six  counties  of  North-East  Ulster,"  or,  (b)  a 
Convention  of  Irishmen  "  for  the  purpose  of  drafting  a 
Constitution  .  .  .  which  should  secure  a  just  balance  of  all 
the  opposing  interests."  Sir  John  Lonsdale  replied  to  the 
Prime  Minister  that  he  would  take  the  Government's  first 
proposal  to  Belfast  for  consideration  by  the  Council ;  but 
as  Mr.  Redmond,  on  the  other  hand,  peremptorily  refused 
to  have  anj^thing  to  say  to  it,  it  became  necessary  to  fall 
back  on  the  other  alternative,  namely  the  assembling  of  an 
Irish  Convention. 

The  members  chosen  to  sit  in  the  Convention  were  to 
be  "  representative  men  "  in  Emerson's  meaning  of  the 
words,  but  not  in  the  democratic  sense  as  deriving  their 
authority  from  direct  popular  election.  Certain  political 
organisations  and  parties  were  each  invited  to  nominate 
a  certain  number  ;  the  Churches  were  represented  by  their 
leading  clergy  ;  men  occupying  public  positions,  such  as 
chairmen  of  local  authorities,  were  given  ex-ofpcio  seats  ; 
and  a  certain  number  were  nominated  by  the  Government. 
The  total  membership  of  this  variegated  assembly  was 
ninety-five.  The  Sinn  Fein  party  were  invited  to  join,  but 
refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it,  declaring  that  they 
would  consider  nothing  short  of  complete  independence  for 


256  THE   IRISH  CONVENTION 

Ireland.  The  majority  of  the  Irish  people  thus  stood 
aloof  from  the  Convention  altogether. 

As  the  purpose  for  which  the  Convention  was  called  was 
quickly  lost  sight  of  by  many,  and  by  none  more  than  its 
Chairman,  it  is  well  to  remember  what  that  purpose  was. 
If  it  had  not  been  for  the  opposition  of  Ulster,  the  Home 
Rule  Act  of  1914  would  have  been  in  force  for  years,  and 
none  of  the  many  attempts  at  settlement  would  have  been 
necessary.  The  one  and  only  thing  required  was  to  recon- 
cile, if  possible,  the  aspirations  of  Ulster  with  those  of  the 
rest  of  Ireland.  That  was  the  purpose,  and  the  only  pur- 
pose, of  the  Convention  ;  and  in  the  letter  addressed  to  Sir 
John  Lonsdale  equally  with  Mr.  Redmond,  the  Prime 
Minister  distinctly  laid  it  down  that  unless  its  conclusions 
were  accepted  "  by  both  sides,"  nothing  could  come  of  it. 
To  leave  no  shadow  of  doubt  on  this  point  Mr.  Bonar  Law, 
in  reply  to  a  specific  question,  said  that  there  could  be  no 
"  substantial  agreement  "  to  which  Ulster  was  not  a  party. 

It  is  necessary  to  emphasise  this  point,  because  for  such 
a  purpose  the  heterogeneous  conglomeration  of  National- 
ists of  all  shades  that  formed  the  great  majority  of  the 
Convention  was  worse  than  useless.  The  Convention  was 
in  reality  a  bi-lateral  conference,  in  which  one  of  the  two 
sides  was  four  times  as  numerous  as  the  other.  Yet  much 
party  capital  was  subsequently  made  of  the  fact  that  the 
Nationalist  members  agreed  upon  a  scheme  of  Home 
Rule — an  achievement  which  had  no  element  of  the  miracu- 
lous or  even  of  the  unexpected  about  it. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  Sinn  Fein  party  had  displayed 
their  contempt  for  the  Convention,  and  under  the  delusion 
that  it  would  "  create  an  atmosphere  of  good- will  "  for  its 
meeting,  the  Government  released  without  condition  or 
reservation  all  the  prisoners  concerned  in  the  Easter  re- 
bellion of  1916.  It  was  like  playing  a  penny  whistle  to 
conciliate  a  cobra.  The  prisoners,  from  whose  minds 
nothing  was  further  than  any  thought  of  good-will  to 
England,  were  received  by  the  populace  in  Dublin  with  a 
rapturous  ovation,  their  triumphal  procession  being  headed 
by  Mr.  De  Valera,  who  was  soon  afterwards  elected  member 
for  East  Clare  by  a  majority  of  nearly  thirty  thousand. 


1917]  THE  ULSTER  DELEGATES  257 

Four  months  later,  the  Chief  Secretary  told  Parliament  that 
the  young  men  of  Southern  Ireland,  who  had  refused  to 
serve  in  the  Army,  were  being  enrolled  in  preparation  for 
another  rebellion. 

It  was  only  after  some  hesitation  that  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council  decided  not  to  hold  aloof  from  the  Convention,  as 
the  Sinn  Feiners  did.  Carson  accompanied  Sir  John  Lons- 
dale to  Belfast  and  explained  the  explicit  pledges  by  Minis- 
ters that  participation  would  not  commit  them  to  anything, 
that  they  would  not  be  bound  by  any  majority  vote,  and 
that  without  their  concurrence  no  legislation  was  to  be 
founded  on  any  agreement  between  the  other  groups  in  the 
Convention  ;  he  also  urged  that  Ulster  could  not  refuse  to 
do  what  the  Government  held  would  be  helpful  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war. 

The  invitation  to  nominate  five  delegates  was  therefore 
accepted  ;  and  when  the  membership  of  the  Convention 
was  complete  there  were  nineteen  out  of  ninety-five  who 
could  be  reckoned  as  supporters  in  general  of  the  Ulster 
point  of  view.  Among  them  were  the  Primate,  the  Modera- 
tor of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Duke  of  Abercorn,  the 
Marquis  of  Londonderry,  Mr.  H.  M.  Pollock,  Chairman  of 
the  Belfast  Chamber  of  Commerce,  one  Labour  representa- 
tive, Mr.  J.  Hanna,  and  the  Lord  INIayors  of  Belfast  and 
Derry.  It  was  agreed  that  Mr.  H.  T.  Barrie,  member  for 
North  Derry,  should  act  as  chairman  and  leader  of  the 
Ulster  group,  and  he  discharged  this  difficult  duty  with 
unfailing  tact  and  ability. 

There  was  some  difficulty  in  finding  a  suitable  Chairman, 
for  no  party  was  willing  to  accept  any  strong  man  opposed 
to  their  own  views,  while  an  impartial  man  was  not  to  be 
found  in  Ireland.  Eventually  the  choice  fell  on  Sir 
Horace  Plunkett  as  a  gentleman  who,  if  eagerly  supported 
by  none,  was  accepted  by  each  group  as  preferable  to  a 
more  formidable  opponent.  Sir  Horace  made  no  pretence 
of  impartiality.  Whatever  influence  he  possessed  was 
used  as  a  partisan  of  the  Nationalists.  He  was  not,  like 
the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  a  silent  guardian 
of  order  ;  he  often  harangued  the  assembly,  which,  on 
one  occasion  at  least,  he  addressed  for  over  an  hour  ;   and 


258  THE   IRISH   CONVENTION 

he  issued  manifestos,  questionnaires,  and  letters  to  mem- 
bers, one  of  which  was  sharply  censured  as  misleading 
both  by  Mr.  Barrie  and  the  Bishop  of  Raphoe. 

The  procedure  adopted  was  described  by  the  Chairman 
himself  as  "  unprecedented."  It  was  not  only  that,  but 
was  unsuitable  in  the  last  degree  for  the  purpose  in  view. 
When  it  is  borne  in  mind  what  that  purpose  was,  it  is 
clear  that  the  only  business-like  method  would  have  been 
to  invite  the  Ulster  delegates  at  the  outset  to  formulate 
their  objections  to  coming  under  the  Home  Rule  Act  of 
1914,  and  then  to  see  whether  Mr.  Redmond  could  make 
any  concessions  which  would  persuade  Ulster  to  accept 
something  less  than  the  permanent  exclusion  of  six  counties, 
which  had  been  their  minimum  hitherto. 

The  procedure  actually  followed  was  ludicrously  different. 
The  object,  as  stated  by  the  chairman,  was  "  to  avoid 
raising  contentious  issues  in  such  a  way  as  to  divide  the 
Convention  on  party  lines,"  ^  which,  to  say  the  least,  was 
a  curious  method  of  handling  the  most  contentious  problem 
in  British  politics.  A  fine  opportunity  was  offered  to 
amateur  constitution-mongers.  Anyone  was  allowed  to 
propound  a  scheme  for  the  future  government  of  Ireland, 
which,  of  course,  was  an  encouragement  to  endless  wide- 
ranging  debate,  with  the  least  conceivable  likelihood  of 
arriving  at  definite  decisions.  Neither  of  the  leaders  of  the 
two  parties  whose  agreement  was  essential  if  the  Convention 
was  to  have  any  result  took  the  initiative  in  bringing 
forward  proposals.  Mr.  Redmond  was  invited  to  do  so, 
but  declined.  Mr.  Barrie  had  no  reason  to  do  so,  because 
the  Ulster  scheme  for  the  government  of  Ireland  was  the 
legislative  union.  So  it  was  left  to  individuals  with  no 
official  responsibility  to  set  forth  their  ideas,  which  became 
the  subject  of  protracted  debates  of  a  general  character. 

It  was  further  arranged  that  while  contentious  issues — 
the  only  ones  that  mattered — should  be  avoided,  any  con- 
clusions reached  on  minor  matters  should  be  purely  pro- 
visional, and  contingent  on  agreement  being  come  to 
ultimately  on  fundamentals.  Month  after  month  was 
spent  in  thus  discussing  such  questions  as  the  powers  which 

1  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Irish  Convention  (Cd.  9019),  p.  10. 


1917]  ITS  FUTILE   PROCEDURE  259 

an  Irish  Parliament  ought  to  wield,  while  the  question 
whether  Ulster  was  to  come  into  that  Parliament  was  left 
to  stand  over.  Committees  and  sub-committees  were  ap- 
pointed to  thresh  out  these  details,  and  some  of  them  relieved 
the  tedium  by  wandering  into  such  interesting  by-ways  of 
irrelevancy  as  housing  and  land  purchase,  all  of  which,  in 
Gilbertian  phrase,  "  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  case." 

The  Ulster  group  raised  no  objection  to  all  this  expendi- 
ture of  time  and  energy.  For  they  saw  that  it  was  not 
time  wasted.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  highest  national 
interest  it  was,  indeed,  more  useful  than  anything  the 
Convention  could  have  accomplished  by  business-like 
methods.  The  summer  and  autumn  of  1917,  and  the  early 
months  of  1918,  covered  a  terribly  critical  period  of  the 
war.  The  country  was  never  in  greater  peril,  and  the 
attitude  of  the  Nationalists  in  the  House  of  Commons 
added  to  the  difficulties  of  the  Government,  as  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  had  complained  in  March.  It  was  to  placate  them 
that  the  Convention  had  been  summoned.  It  was  a  bone 
thrown  to  a  snarling  dog,  and  the  longer  there  was  anything 
to  gnaw  the  longer  would  the  dog  keep  quiet.  The  Ulster 
delegates  understood  this  perfectly,  and,  as  their  chief 
desire  was  to  help  the  Government  to  get  on  with  the  war, 
they  had  no  wish  to  curtail  the  proceedings  of  the  Conven- 
tion, although  they  were  never  under  the  delusion  that  it 
could  lead  to  anything  in  Ireland. 

Having  regard  to  the  origin  of  this  strange  assembly  of 
Irishmen  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  its  ingenuity 
would  be  directed  to  finding  some  modification  of  Mr. 
Asquith's  Home  Rule  Act  which  Ulster  could  accept.  That 
Act  was  the  point  of  departure  for  its  investigation,  and 
the  quest  was  ex  hypothesi  for  some  amendment  that  would 
not  be  an  enlargement  of  the  authority  to  be  delegated  to 
the  subordinate  Parliament,  or  any  further  loosening  of  the 
tie  with  Great  Britain.  Any  proposal  of  the  latter  sort 
would  be  in  the  opposite  direction  from  that  in  which  the 
Convention  was  intended  to  travel.  Yet  this  is  precisely 
what  was  done  from  the  very  outset.  The  Act  of  1914 
was  brushed  aside  as  beneath  contempt ;  and  the  Ulster 
delegates  had  to  listen  with  amazement  week  after  week 


260  THE   IRISH   CONVENTION 

to  proposals  for  giving  to  the  whole  of  Ireland,  including 
their  own  Province,  a  constitution  practically  as  inde- 
pendent of  Great  Britain  as  that  of  the  Dominions. 

But  what  astonished  the  Ulstermen  above  everything 
was  to  find  these  extravagant  demands  of  the  Nationalists 
supported  by  those  who  were  supposed  to  be  representa- 
tives of  Southern  Unionism,  with  Lord  Midleton,  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  Unionist  Party  in  England,  at  their 
head.  The  only  material  point  on  which  Lord  Midleton 
differed  from  the  extremists  led  by  the  Bishop  of  Raphoe 
was  that  he  wished  to  limit  complete  fiscal  autonomy  for 
Ireland  by  reserving  the  control  of  Customs  duties  to  the 
Imperial  Parliament.  Save  in  this  single  particular  he 
joined  forces  with  the  Nationalists,  and  shocked  the 
Unionists  of  the  North  by  giving  his  support  to  a  scheme 
of  Home  Rule  going  beyond  anything  ever  suggested  at 
Westminster  by  any  Radical  from  Gladstone  to  Asquith. 

This  question  of  the  financial  powers  to  be  exercised  by 
the  hypothetical  Irish  Parliament  occupied  the  Convention 
and  its  committees  for  the  greater  part  of  its  eight  months 
of  existence.  In  January  1918  Lord  Midleton  and  Mr. 
Redmond  came  to  an  agreement  on  the  subject  which 
proved  the  undoing  of  them  both,  and  produced  the  only 
really  impressive  scene  in  the  Convention. 

For  some  time  Mr.  Redmond  had  given  the  impression 
of  being  a  tired  man  who  had  lost  his  wonted  driving-force. 
He  took  little  or  no  part  in  the  lobbying  and  canvassing 
that  was  constantly  going  on  behind  the  scenes  in  the 
Convention  ;  he  appeared  to  be  losing  grip  as  a  leader. 
But  he  cannot  be  blamed  for  his  anxiety  to  come  to  terms 
with  Lord  Midleton  ;  and  when  he  found,  no  doubt  greatly 
to  his  surprise,  that  a  Unionist  leader  was  ready  to  abandon 
Unionist  principles  and  to  accept  Dominion  Home  Rule  for 
Ireland,  subject  to  a  single  reservation  on  the  subject  of 
Customs,  he  naturally  jumped  at  it,  and  assumed  that  his 
followers  would  do  the  same. 

But,  while  Mr.  Redmond  had  been  losing  ground,  the 
influence  of  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Raphoe  had  been  on 
the  increase,  and  that  able  and  astute  prelate  was  entirely 
opposed  to  the  compromise  on  which  Mr.  Redmond  and 


1918]  THE  FALL  OF   MR.   REDMOND  261 

Lord  Midlcton  were  agreed.  On  the  evening  of  the  14th 
of  January  it  came  to  the  knowledge  of  Mr.  Redmond  that 
when  the  question  came  up  for  decision  next  day,  he  would 
find  Mr.  Devlin,  his  principal  lieutenant,  in  league  with  the 
ecclesiastics  against  him.  He  was  personally  too  far  com- 
mitted to  retrace  his  steps  ;  to  go  forward  meant  disaster, 
for  it  would  produce  a  deep  cleavage  in  the  Nationalist 
ranks ;  and,  as  the  state  of  affairs  was  generally  known  to 
members  of  the  Convention,  the  sitting  of  the  following 
day  was  anticipated  with  unusual  interest. 

There  was  an  atmosphere  of  suppressed  excitement  when 
the  Chairman  took  his  seat  on  the  15th.  Mr.  Redmond 
entered  a  few  seconds  later  and  took  his  usual  place 
without  betraying  the  slightest  sign  of  disturbed  equa- 
nimity. The  Bishop  of  Raphoe  strode  past  him,  casting 
to  left  and  right  swift,  challenging  glances.  Mr.  Devlin 
slipped  quietly  into  his  seat  beside  the  leader  he  had  thrown 
over,  without  a  word  or  gesture  of  greeting.  All  over  the 
room  small  groups  of  members  engaged  in  whispered  con- 
versation ;  an  air  of  mysterious  expectancy  prevailed.  The 
Ulster  members  had  been  threatened  that  it  was  to  be  for 
them  a  day  of  disaster  and  dismay — a  little  isolated  group, 
about  to  be  deserted  by  friends  and  crushed  by  enemies. 
The  Chairman,  in  an  agitated  voice,  opened  proceedings  by 
inviting  questions.  There  was  no  response.  A  minute  or 
so  of  tense  pause  ensued.  Then  Mr.  Redmond  rose,  and 
in  a  perfectly  even  voice  and  his  usual  measured  diction, 
stated  that  he  was  aware  that  his  proposal  was  repudiated 
by  many  of  his  usual  followers  ;  that  the  bishops  were 
against  him,  and  some  leading  Nationalists,  including  Mr. 
Devlin  ;  that,  while  he  believed  if  he  persisted  he  would 
have  a  majority,  the  result  would  be  to  split  his  party,  a 
thing  he  wished  to  avoid  ;  and  that  he  had  therefore 
decided  not  to  proceed  with  his  amendment,  and  under 
these  circumstances  felt  he  could  be  of  no  further  use  to 
the  Convention  in  the  matter. 

For  a  minute  or  two  the  assembly  could  not  grasp  the 
full  significance  of  what  had  happened.  Then  it  broke 
upon  them  that  this  was  the  fall  of  a  notable  leader, 
although  they  did  not  yet  know  that  it  was  also  the  close 


262  THE   IRISH  CONVENTION 

of  a  distinguished  career.  Mr.  Redmond's  demeanour 
throughout  what  must  have  been  a  painful  ordeal  was 
beyond  all  praise.  There  was  not  a  quiver  in  his  voice, 
nor  a  hesitation  for  word  or  phrase.  His  self-possession 
and  dignity  and  high-bred  bearing  won  the  respect  and 
sympathy  of  the  most  strenuous  of  political  opponents, 
even  while  they  recognised  that  the  defeat  of  the  Nationalist 
leader  meant  relief  from  pressure  on  themselves.  Mr. 
Redmond  took  no  further  part  in  the  work  of  the  Conven- 
tion ;  his  health  was  failing,  and  the  members  were  startled 
by  the  news  of  his  death  on  the  6th  of  March. 

Not  a  single  vote  was  taken  in  the  Convention  until  the 
12th  of  March,  1918,  when  it  had  been  sitting  for  nearly 
seven  months,  and  two  days  later  the  question  which  it  had 
been  summoned  to  consider,  namely,  the  relation  of 
Ulster  to  the  rest  of  Ireland,  was  touched  for  the  first  time. 
The  first  clause  in  the  Bishop  of  Raphoe's  scheme,  estab- 
lishing a  Home  Rule  constitution  for  all  Ireland,  having 
been  carried  with  Lord  Midleton's  help  against  the  vote  of 
the  nineteen  representatives  of  Ulster,  the  latter  proposed 
an  amendment  for  the  exclusion  of  the  Province,  and  were, 
of  course,  defeated  by  the  combined  forces  of  Nationalism 
and  Southern  Unionism. 

Thus,  on  the  only  issue  that  really  mattered,  there  was 
no  such  "  substantial  agreement  "  as  the  Government  had 
postulated  as  essential  before  legislation  could  be  under- 
taken ;  and  on  the  5th  of  April  the  Convention  came  to  an 
end  without  having  achieved  any  useful  result,  except  that 
it  gave  the  Government  a  breathing  space  from  the  Irish 
question  to  get  on  with  the  war. 

It  served,  however,  to  bring  prominently  forward  two 
of  the  Ulster  representatives  whose  full  worth  had  not  till 
then  been  sufficiently  appreciated.  Mr.  H.  M.  Pollock 
had,  it  is  true,  been  a  valued  adviser  of  Sir  Edward  Carson 
on  questions  touching  the  trade  and  commerce  of  Belfast. 
But  in  the  Convention  he  made  more  than  one  speech  which 
proved  him  to  be  a  financier  with  a  comprehensive  grasp 
of  principle,  and  an  extensive  knowledge  of  the  history  and 
the  intricate  details  of  the  financial  relations  between  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland. 


1918]  CARSON   AGAIN   LEADER  203 

Lord  Londonderry  (the  7th  Marquis),  who  during  his 
father's  lifetime  had  represented  an  EngHsh  constituency 
in  the  House  of  Commons  and  naturally  took  no  very 
prominent  part  in  Ulster  affairs,  although  he  made  many 
excellent  speeches  on  Home  Rule  both  in  Parliament  and 
on  English  platforms,  and  was  Colonel  of  a  regiment  of 
U.V.F.,  gave  proof  at  once,  on  succeeding  to  the  peerage  in 
1915,  that  he  was  desirous  of  doing  everything  in  his  power 
to  fill  his  father's  place  in  the  Ulster  Movement.  He  dis- 
played the  same  readiness  to  subordinate  personal  conveni- 
ence, and  other  claims  on  his  time  and  energy,  to  the  cause 
so  closely  associated  historically  with  his  family.  But 
it  was  his  work  in  the  Convention  that  first  convinced 
Ulstermen  of  his  capacity  as  well  as  his  zeal.  Several  of 
Lord  Londonderry's  speeches,  and  especially  one  in  which 
he  made  an  impromptu  reply  to  Mr.  Redmond,  impressed 
the  Convention  with  his  debating  power  and  his  general 
ability  ;  and  it  gave  the  greatest  satisfaction  in  Ulster 
when  it  was  realised  that  the  son  of  the  leader  whose  loss 
they  mourned  so  deeply  was  as  able  as  he  was  willing  to 
carry  on  the  hereditary  tradition  of  service  to  the  loyalist 
cause. 

In  another  respect,  too,  the  Convention  had  an  indirect 
influence  on  the  position  in  Ulster.  When  it  appeared 
likely,  in  January  1918,  that  a  deadlock  would  be  reached 
in  the  Convention,  the  Prime  Minister  himself  intervened. 
A  letter  to  the  Chairman  was  drafted  and  discussed  in  the 
Cabinet ;  but  the  policy  which  appeared  to  commend 
itself  to  his  colleagues  was  one  that  Sir  Edward  Carson  was 
unable  to  support,  and  he  accordingly  resigned  office  on  the 
21st,  and  was  accompanied  into  retirement  by  Colonel 
Craig,  the  other  Ulster  member  of  the  Ministry.  Sir 
John  Lonsdale,  who  for  many  years  had  been  the  very 
efficient  Honorary  Secretary  and  "  Whip  "  of  the  Ulster 
Parliamentary  Party,  and  its  leader  while  Carson  was  in 
office,  had  been  raised  to  the  peerage  at  the  New  Year,  with 
the  title  of  Lord  Armaghdale,  so  that  the  Ulster  leadership 
was  vacant  for  Carson  to  resume  when  he  left  the  Govern- 
ment, and  he  was  formally  re-elected  to  the  position  on  the 
28th  of  January.  It  was  fortunate  for  Ulster  that  the  old 
18 


264  THE   IRISH   CONVENTION 

helmsman  was  again  free  to  take  his  place  at  the  wheel,  for 
there  was  still  some  rough  weather  ahead. 

The  official  Report  of  the  Convention  which  was  issued 
on  the  10th  of  April  was  one  of  the  most  extraordinary- 
documents  ever  published  in  a  Government  Blue  Book.^ 
It  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  a  confused  bundle  of 
separate  Notes  and  Reports  by  a  number  of  different 
groups  and  individuals,  and  numerous  appendices  com- 
prising a  mass  of  miscellaneous  memoranda  bristling  with 
cross-references.  The  Chairman  was  restricted  to  provid- 
ing a  bald  narrative  of  the  proceedings  without  any  of  the 
usual  critical  estimate  of  the  general  results  attained  ;  but 
he  made  up  for  this  by  setting  forth  bis  personal  opinions 
in  a  letter  to  the  Prime  Minister,  which,  without  the 
sanction  of  the  Convention,  he  prefixed  to  the  Report. 
As  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  gain  any  clear  idea  from  the 
Report  as  to  what  the  Convention  had  done,  its  proceedings 
while  in  session  having  been  screened  from  publicity  by 
drastic  censorship  of  the  Press,  many  people  contented 
themselves  with  reading  Sir  Horace  Plunkett's  unauthorised 
letter  to  Mr.  Lloyd  George  ;  and,  as  it  was  in  some  impor- 
tant respects  gravely  misleading,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  truth  in  regard  to  the  Convention  was  never  properly 
understood,  and  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  had  solid 
justification  for  its  resolution  censuring  the  Chairman's 
conduct  as  "  unprecedented  and  unconstitutional." 

In  this  personal  letter,  as  was  to  be  expected  of  a  partisan 
of  the  Nationalists,  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  laid  stress  on  the 
fact  that  Lord  Midleton  had  "  accepted  self-government 
for  Ireland  " — by  which  was  meant,  of  course,  not  self- 
government  such  as  Ireland  always  enjoyed  through  her 
representation,  and  indeed  over-representation,  in  the 
Imperial  Parliament,  but  through  separate  institutions. 
But  if  it  had  not  been  for  this  support  of  separate  institu- 
tions by  the  Southern  Unionists  there  would  not  have  been 
even  a  colourable  pretext  for  the  assertion  of  Sir  Horace 
Plunkett  that  "  a  larger  measure  of  agreement  has  been 
reached  upon  the  principles  and  details  of  Irish  self- 
government  than  has  ever  yet  been  attained."     The  really 

1  Cd.  9019. 


1918J  LORD   MIDLETON   CENSURED  265 

surprising  thing  was  how  little  agreement  was  displayed 
even  among  the  Nationalists  themselves,  who  on  several 
important  issues  were  nearly  equally  divided. 

It  was  soon  seen  how  little  the  policy  of  Lord  Midleton 
was  approved  by  those  whom  he  was  supposed  to  represent. 
Although  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain  accurate 
information  about  what  was  going  on  in  the  Convention, 
enough  became  known  in  Dublin  to  cause  serious  mis- 
giving to  Southern  Unionists.  The  Council  of  the  Irish 
Unionist  Alliance,  who  had  nominated  Lord  Midleton  as  a 
delegate,  asked  him  to  confer  with  them  on  the  subject ; 
but  he  refused.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1918,  a  "  Call  to 
Unionists,"  a  manifesto  signed  by  twenty-four  influential 
Southern  Unionists,  appeared  in  the  Press.  A  Southern 
Unionist  Committee  was  formed  which  before  the  end  of 
May  was  able  to  publish  the  names  of  350  well-known  men 
in  all  walks  of  life  who  were  in  accord  with  the  "  Call,"  and 
to  announce  that  the  supporters  of  their  protest  against 
Lord  Midleton's  proceedings  numbered  upwards  of  fourteen 
thousand,  of  whom  more  than  two  thousand  were  farmers 
in  the  South  and  West. 

This  Committee  then  took  steps  to  purge  the  Irish 
Unionist  Alliance  by  making  it  more  truly  representative 
of  Southern  Unionist  opinion.  A  special  meeting  of  the 
Council  of  the  organisation  on  the  24th  of  January,  1919, 
brought  on  a  general  engagement  between  Lord  Midleton 
and  his  opponents.  The  general  trend  of  opinion  was 
disclosed  when,  after  the  defeat  of  a  motion  by  Lord  Midle- 
ton for  excluding  Ulster  Unionists  from  full  membership 
of  the  Alliance,  Sir  Edward  Carson  was  elected  one  of  its 
Presidents,  and  Lord  Farnham  was  chosen  Chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee.  The  Executive  Committee  was 
then  entirely  reconstituted,  by  the  rejection  of  every  one 
of  Lord  Midleton's  supporters  ;  and  the  new  body  issued 
a  statement  explaining  the  grounds  of  dissatisfaction  with 
Lord  Midleton's  action  in  the  Convention,  and  declaring 
that  he  had  "  lost  the  confidence  of  the  general  body  of 
Southern  Unionists."  Thereupon  Lord  Midleton  and  a 
small  aristocratic  clique  associated  with  him  seceded  from 
the  Alliance,  and  set  up  a  little  organisation  of  their  own. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

NATIONALISTS    AND   CONSCRIPTION 

While  the  Irish  Convention  was  toilfully  bringing  to  a 
close  its  eight  months'  career  of  futility,  the  British  Empire 
was  in  the  grip  of  the  most  terrible  ordeal  through  which  it 
has  ever  passed.  On  the  21st  of  March,  1918,  the  assembled 
Irishmen  in  Dublin  were  discussing  whether  or  not  pro- 
portional representation  should  form  part  of  the  hypothe- 
tical constitution  of  Ireland,  and  on  the  same  day  the 
Germans  well-nigh  overwhelmed  the  5th  Army  at  the 
opening  of  the  great  offensive  campaign  which  threatened 
to  break  irretrievably  the  Allied  line  by  the  capture  of 
Amiens.  The  world  held  its  breath.  Englishmen  hardly 
dared  to  think  of  the  fate  that  seemed  impending  over  their 
country.  Irishmen  continued  complacently  debating  the 
paltry  details  of  the  Bishop  of  Raphoe's  clauses.  Irishmen 
and  Englishmen  together  were  being  killed  or  maimed  by 
scores  of  thousands  in  a  supreme  effort  to  stay  the  advance 
of  the  Boche  to  Paris  and  the  sea. 

It  happened  that  on  the  very  day  when  the  Report  of 
the  Convention  was  laid  on  the  table  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  the  Prime  Minister  made  a  statement  of  pro- 
found gravity,  beginning  with  words  such  as  the  British 
Parliament  can  never  before  have  been  compelled  to  hear 
from  the  lips  of  the  head  of  the  Government.  For  the 
moment,  said  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  there  was  a  lull  in  the 
storm ;    but  more  attacks  were  to  come,  and — 

The  "  fate  of  the  Empire,  the  fate  of  Europe,  and  the  fate 
of  liberty  throughout  the  world  may  depend  on  the  success 
with  which  the  very  last  of  these  attacks  is  resisted  and 
countered." 

Mr.  Asquith  struck  the  same  note,  urging  the  House — 

266 


1918]  THE   GRAVEST   CRISIS  287 

"  With  all  the  earnestness  and  with  all  the  solemnity  of 
which  I  am  capable,  to  realise  that  never  before  in  the  ex- 
perience of  any  man  within  these  walls,  or  of  his  fathers 
and  his  forefathers,  has  this  country  and  all  the  great 
traditions  and  ideals  which  are  embodied  in  our  history — 
never  has  this,  the  most  splendid  inheritance  ever  be- 
queathed to  a  people,  been  in  greater  peril,  or  in  more  need 
of  united  safeguarding  than  at  this  present  time." 

Not  Demosthenes  himself,  in  his  most  impassioned  appeal 
to  the  Athenians,  more  fitly  matched  moving  words  to 
urgent  occasion  than  these  two  statesmen  in  the  simple, 
restrained  sentences,  in  which  they  warned  the  Commons 
of  the  peril  hanging  over  England. 

But  was  eloquent  persuasion  really  required  at  such  a 
moment  to  still  the  voice  of  faction  in  the  British  House 
of  Commons  ?  Let  those  who  would  assume  the  negative 
study  the  official  Parliamentary  Report  of  the  debate  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1918.  They  will  find  a  record  which  no 
loyal  Irishman  will  ever  be  able  to  read  without  a  tingling 
sense  of  shame.  The  whole  body  of  members,  with  one 
exception,  listened  to  the  Prime  Minister's  grave  words  in 
silence  touched  with  awe,  feeling  that  perhaps  they  were 
sitting  there  on  the  eve  of  the  greatest  tragedy  in  their 
country's  history.  The  single  exception  was  the  National- 
ist Party.  From  those  same  benches  whence  arose  nine- 
teen years  back  the  never-forgotten  cheers  that  greeted  the 
tale  of  British  disaster  in  South  Africa,  now  came  a  shower 
of  snarling  interruptions  that  broke  persistently  into  the 
Prime  Minister's  speech,  and  with  angry  menace  impeded 
his  unfolding  of  the  Government's  proposals  for  meeting 
the  supreme  ordeal  of  the  war. 

What  was  the  reason  ?  It  was  because  Ireland,  the 
greater  part  of  which  had  till  now  successfully  shirked  its 
share  of  privation  and  sacrifice,  was  at  last  to  be  asked  to 
take  up  its  corner  of  the  burden.  The  need  for  men  to 
replace  casualties  at  the  front  was  pressing,  urgent,  impera- 
tive. Many  indeed  blamed  the  Government  for  having 
delayed  too  long  in  filling  the  depleted  ranks  of  our  splendid 
armies  in  France  ;  the  moment  had  come  when  another 
day's   delay  would   have  been  criminal.     As  Mr.   Lloyd 


268  NATIONALISTS   AND   CONSCRIPTION 

George  pointed  out,  the  battle  that  was  being  waged  in 
front  of  Amiens  "  proves  that  the  enemy  has  definitely 
decided  to  seek  a  military  decision  this  year,  whatever  the 
consequences  to  himself."  The  Germans  had  just  called 
up  a  fresh  class  of  recruits  calculated  to  place  more  than 
half  a  million  of  efficient  young  men  in  the  line.  The 
collapse  of  Russia  had  released  the  vast  German  armies  of 
the  East  for  use  against  England  and  France.  It  was 
under  such  circumstances  that  the  Prime  Minister  proposed 

"  to  submit  to  Parliament  to-day  certain  recommendations 
in  order  to  assist  this  country  and  the  Allies  to  weather  the 
storm.  They  will  involve,"  continued  Mr.  Lloyd  George, 
"  extreme  sacrifices  on  the  part  of  large  classes  of  the 
population,  and  nothing  would  justify  them  but  the  most 
extreme  necessity,  and  the  fact  that  we  are  fighting  for  all 
that  is  essential  and  most  sacred  in  the  national  life." 

The  age  limit  for  compulsory  military  service  was  to  be 
raised  from  forty-two  to  fifty,  and  Ireland  was  to  be 
included  under  the  new  Military  Service  Bill  now  intro- 
duced. England,  Scotland,  and  Wales  had  cheerfully 
submitted  to  conscription  when  first  enacted  by  Mr. 
Asquith  in  1916,  and  to  all  the  additional  combings  of 
industry  and  extension  of  obligation  that  had  been  required 
in  the  past  two  years.  Agriculture  and  other  essential 
industries  were  being  starved  for  want  of  labour,  and  men 
had  actually  been  brought  back  from  the  sorely  pressed 
armies  to  produce  supplies  imperatively  needed  at  home. 

But  from  all  this  Ireland  had  hitherto  been  exempt.  To 
escape  the  call  of  the  country  a  man  had  only  to  prove 
that  he  was  "  ordinarily  resident  in  Ireland  "  ;  for  con- 
scription did  not  cross  the  Irish  Sea.  From  most  of  the 
privations  cheerfully  borne  in  Great  Britain  the  Irishman 
had  been  equally  free.  Food  rationing  did  not  trouble 
him,  and,  lest  he  should  go  short  of  accustomed  plenty,  it 
was  even  forbidden  to  carry  a  parcel  of  butter  across  the 
Channel  from  Ireland.  Horse-racing  went  on  as  usual. 
Emigration  had  been  suspended  during  the  war,  so  that 
Ireland  was  unusually  full  of  young  men  who,  owing  to  the 
unwonted  prosperity  of  the  country  resulting  from  war 


1918]  SHAMEFUL   SCENE   IN   PARLIAMENT         269 

prices  for  its  produce,  were  "  having  the  time  of  their 
hves."  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  in  the  debates  on  the  Mihtary 
Service  Bill,  gave  reasons  for  the  calculation  that  there 
were  not  far  short  of  400,000  young  men  of  military  age, 
and  of  "  Al  "  physique,  in  Ireland  available  for  the  Army. 

No  wonder  that  Mr.  Lloyd  George  said  it  would  be 
impossible  to  leave  this  reservoir  of  man-power  untouched 
when  men  of  fifty,  whose  sons  were  already  with  the 
colours,  were  to  be  called  up  in  Great  Britain  !  But  the 
bare  suggestion  of  doing  such  a  thing  raised  a  hurricane  of 
angry  vituperation  and  menace  from  the  Nationalists  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  When  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  in  con- 
ciliatory accents,  observed  that  he  had  no  wish  to  raise 
unnecessary  controversy,  as  Heaven  knew  they  had 
trouble  enough  already,  "  You  will  get  more  of  it,"  shouted 
Mr.  Flavin.  "  You  will  have  another  battle  front  in 
Ireland,"  interjected  Mr.  Byrne.  Mr.  Flavin,  getting  more 
and  more  excited,  called  out,  with  reference  to  the 
machinery  for  enrolment  explained  by  the  Prime  Minister 
— "  It  will  never  begin.  Ireland  will  not  have  it  at  any 
price  "  ;  and  again,  a  moment  later,  "  You  come  across 
and  try  to  take  them."  Mr.  Devlin  was  fully  as  fierce  as 
these  less  prominent  members  of  his  party,  and  after 
many  wrathful  interruptions  he  turned  aside  the  debate 
into  a  discussion  about  a  trumpery  report  of  one  of  the 
sub-committees  of  the  Irish  Convention. 

It  was  truly  a  sad  and  shameful  scene  to  be  witnessed 
in  the  House  of  Commons  at  such  a  moment.  It  would 
have  been  so  even  if  the  contention  of  the  Nationalists  had 
been  reasonably  tenable.  But  it  was  not.  They  main- 
tained that  only  an  Irish  Parliament  had  the  right  to 
enforce  conscription  in  Ireland.  But  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  they  had  accepted  the  proviso  that  it  should  run 
its  course  before  Home  Rule  came  into  operation.  And 
even  if  it  had  been  in  operation,  and  a  Parliament  had 
been  sitting  in  Dublin  under  Mr.  Asquith's  Act,  which  the 
Nationalists  had  accepted  as  a  settlement  of  their  demands, 
that  Parliament  would  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
raising  of  military  forces  by  conscription  or  otherwise, 
this  being  a  duty  reserved,  as  in  every  federal  or  quasi- 


270  NATIONALISTS   AND   CONSCRIPTION 

federal  constitution,  for  the  central  legislative  authority- 
alone. 

But  it  was  useless  to  point  this  out  to  the  infuriated 
Nationalist  members.  Mr.  William  O'Brien  denounced  the 
idea  of  compelling  Irishmen  to  bear  the  same  burden  as 
their  British  fellow-subjects  as  "a  declaration  of  war 
against  Ireland  "  ;  and  he  and  Mr.  Healy  joined  Mr. 
Dillon  and  his  followers  in  opposing  with  all  their  parlia- 
mentary skill,  and  all  their  voting  power,  the  extension  to 
Ireland  of  compulsory  service.  Mr.  Healy,  whose  vindic- 
tive memory  had  not  forgotten  the  Curragh  Incident  before 
the  war,  could  not  forbear  from  having  an  ungenerous  fling 
at  General  Gough,  who  had  just  been  driven  back  by  the 
overwhelming  numerical  superiority  of  the  German  attack, 
and  who,  at  the  moment  when  Mr.  Healy  was  taunting  him 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  was  re-forming  his  gallant 
5th  Army  to  resist  the  enemy's  further  advance. 

In  comparison  with  this  Mr.  Healy's  stale  gibe  at 
"  Carson's  Army,"  however  inappropriate  to  the  occasion, 
was  a  venial  offence.  Carson  himself  replied  in  a  gentle 
and  conciliatory  tone  to  Mr.  Healy's  coarse  diatribe. 

"  My  honourable  friend,"  he  said,  "  talked  of  Carson's 
Army.  You  may,  if  you  like,  call  it  with  contempt  Car- 
son's Army.  But  it  has  just  gone  into  action  for  the  fourth 
time,  and  many  of  them  have  paid  the  supreme  sacrifice. 
They  have  covered  themselves  with  glory,  and,  what  is 
more,  they  have  covered  Ireland  with  glory,  and  they  have 
left  behind  sad  homes  throughout  the  small  hamlets  of 
Ulster,  as  I  well  know,  losing  three  or  four  sons  in  many 
a  home." 

On  behalf  of  Ulster  Carson  gave  unhesitating  support  to 
the  Government.  He  and  his  colleagues  from  Ulster  had 
always  voted  against  the  exemption  of  Ireland  from  the 
Military  Service  Acts.  It  was  true,  no  doubt,  as  the 
Nationalists  jeeringly  maintained,  that  conscription  was 
no  more  desired  in  Ulster  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  Of  course  it  was  not ;  it  was  liked 
nowhere.  But  Carson  declared  that  "  equality  of  sacri- 
fice "   was  the  principle  to  be   acted   upon,   and   Ulster 


1918]        MORE  TRAFFIC   WITH   THE   ENEMY  271 

accepted  it.  He  *'  would  go  about  hanging  his  head  in 
shame,"  if  his  own  part  of  the  United  Kingdom  were 
absolved  from  sacrifice  which  the  national  necessity 
imposed  on  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain. 

The  Bill  was  carried  through  by  the  16th  of  April  in  the 
teeth  of  Nationalist  opposition  maintained  through  all  its 
stages.  Mr.  Bonar  Law  announced  emphatically  that  the 
Government  intended  to  enforce  the  compulsory  powers  in 
Ireland  ;  but  he  also  said  that  yet  another  attempt  was 
to  be  made  to  settle  the  constitutional  question  by  bringing 
in  "  at  an  early  date  "  a  measure  of  Home  Rule  which  the 
Government  hoped  might  be  carried  at  once  and  "  without 
violent  controversy." 

After  the  experience  of  the  past  this  seemed  an  amazingly 
sanguine  estimate  of  the  prospects  of  any  proposals  that 
ingenuity  could  devise.  But  what  the  nature  of  the 
measure  was  to  have  been  was  never  made  known  ;  for 
the  Bill  was  still  in  the  hands  of  a  drafting  committee  when 
a  dangerous  German  intrigue  in  Ireland  was  discovered  ; 
and  the  Lord-Lieutenant  made  a  proclamation  on  the 
18th  of  May  announcing  that  the  Government  had  infor- 
mation "  that  certain  of  the  King's  subjects  in  Ireland  had 
entered  into  a  treasonable  communication  with  the  German 
enemy,  and  that  strict  measures  must  be  taken  to  put  down 
this  German  plot."  ^  On  the  same  day  one  hundred  and 
fifty  Sinn  Feiners  were  arrested,  including  Mr.  De  Valera 
and  Mr.  Arthur  Griffith,  and  on  the  25th  a  statement  was 
published  indicating  the  connection  between  this  con- 
spiracy and  Casement's  designs  in  1916.  The  Government 
had  definitely  ascertained  some  weeks  earlier,  and  must 
have  known  at  the  very  time  when  they  were  promising  a 
new  Home  Rule  Bill,  that  a  plan  for  landing  arms  in  Ireland 
was  ripe  for  execution. ^  Indeed,  on  the  12th  of  April  a 
German  agent  who  had  landed  in  Ireland  was  arrested, 
with  papers  in  his  possession  showing  that  De  Valera  had 
worked  out  a  detailed  organisation  of  the  rebel  army,  and 
expected  to  be  in  a  position  to  muster  half  a  million  of 
trained  men.' 

Such  was  the  fruit  of  the  Government's  infatuation  which, 

1  Annual  Register,  1918,  p,  87.  2  Ibid.,  p.  88.  »  Ibid. 


272  NATIONALISTS   AND   CONSCRIPTION 

under  the  delusion  of  "  creating  an  atmosphere  of 
good- will "  for  the  Convention,  had  released  a  few  months 
previously  a  number  of  dangerous  men  who  had  been 
proved  to  be  in  league  with  the  Germans,  and  who  now 
took  advantage  of  this  clemency  to  conspire  afresh  with 
the  foreign  enemy.  It  was  not  surprising  that  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  said  it  was  impossible  for  the  Government,  under  these 
circumstances,  to  proceed  with  their  proposals  for  a  new 
Home  Rule  Bill. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  sooner  was  the  Military  Service 
Act  on  the  Statute-book  than  the  Government  began  to 
recede  from  Mr.  Bonar  Law's  declaration  that  they  would 
at  all  costs  enforce  it  in  Ireland.  They  intimated  that  if 
voluntary  recruiting  improved  it  might  be  possible  to 
dispense  with  compulsion.  But  although  Mr.  Shortt — who 
succeeded  Mr.  Duke  as  Chief  Secretary  in  May,  at  the 
same  time  as  Lord  Wimborne  was  replaced  in  the  Lord- 
Lieutenancy  by  Field-Marshal  Lord  French — complained 
on  the  29th  of  July  that  the  Nationalists  had  given  no  help 
to  the  Government  in  obtaining  voluntary  recruits  in 
Ireland,  and,  "  instead  of  taking  Sinn  Fein  by  the  throat, 
had  tried  to  go  one  better,"  ^  the  compulsory  powers  of 
the  Military  Service  Act  remained  a  dead  letter. 

The  fact  was  that  the  Nationalists  had  followed  up  their 
fierce  opposition  to  the  Bill  by  raising  a  still  more  fierce 
agitation  in  Ireland  against  conscription.  In  this  they 
joined  hands  with  Sinn  Fein,  and  the  whole  weight  of  the 
Catholic  Church  was  thrown  into  the  same  scale.  From 
the  altars  of  that  Church  the  thunderbolts  of  ecclesiastical 
anathema  were  loosed  against  the  Government,  and — ■ 
what  was  more  effective — against  any  who  should  obey 
the  call  to  arms.  The  Government  gave  way  before  the 
violence  of  the  storm,  and  the  lesson  to  be  learnt  from  their 
defeat  was  not  thrown  away  on  the  rebel  party  in  Ireland. 
There  was,  naturally,  widespread  indignation  in  England 
at  the  spectacle  of  the  youth  of  Ireland  taking  its  ease  at 
home  and  earning  extravagantly  high  war-time  wages 
while  middle-aged  bread-winners  in  England  were  com- 
pulsorily  called  to  the  colours ;  but  the  marvellously  easy- 

*  Annual  Register,  1918,  p.  90. 


1918]  A   CURIOSITY   OF   LITERATURE  278 

going  disposition  of  Englishmen  submitted  to  the  injustice 
with  no  more  than  a  legitimate  grumble. 

In  June  1918,  while  this  agitation  against  conscription 
was  at  its  height,  the  hostility  of  the  Nationalists  took  a 
new  turn.  A  manifesto,  intended  as  a  justification  of  their 
resistance  to  conscription,  was  issued  in  the  form  of  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Wilson,  President  of  the  United  States,  signed  by 
Mr.  Dillon,  Mr.  Devlin,  Mr.  William  O'Brien,  Mr.  Healy, 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin,  and  some  others,  including 
leaders  of  Sinn  Fein.  It  was  a  remarkable  document,  the 
authorship  of  which  was  popularly  attributed  to  Mr.  T.  M. 
Healy.  If  it  ever  came  under  the  eye  of  Mr.  Wilson,  a 
man  of  literary  taste  and  judgment,  it  must  have  afforded 
him  a  momentary  diversion  from  the  cares  of  his  exalted 
office.  A  longer  experience  than  his  of  diplomatic  corre- 
spondence would  fail  to  produce  from  the  pigeon-holes  of 
all  the  Chanceries  a  rival  to  this  extraordinary  composition, 
the  ill-arranged  paragraphs  of  which  formed  an  inextricable 
jumble  of  irrelevant  material,  in  which  bad  logic,  bad 
history,  and  barren  invective  were  confusedly  intermingled 
in  a  torrent  of  turgid  rhetoric.  The  extent  of  its  range 
may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  Shakespeare's  allusions 
to  Joan  of  Arc  were  not  deemed  too  remote  from  the 
subject  of  conscription  in  Ireland  during  the  Great  War  to 
find  a  place  in  this  amazing  despatch.  For  the  amusement 
of  anyone  who  may  care  to  examine  so  rare  a  curiosity  of 
English  prose,  it  will  be  found  in  full  in  the  Appendix  to 
this  volume,  where  it  may  be  compared  by  way  of  contrast 
with  the  restrained  rejoinder  sent  also  to  President  Wilson 
by  Sir  Edward  Carson,  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Belfast,  the 
Mayor  of  Derry,  and  several  loyalist  representatives  of 
Labour  in  Ulster. 

In  the  Nationalist  letter  to  President  Wilson  reference 
was  made  more  than  once  to  the  sympathy  that  prevailed 
in  Ireland  in  the  eighteenth  century  with  the  American 
colonists  in  the  War  of  Independence.  The  use  made  of 
it  was  a  good  example  of  the  way  in  which  a  half-truth  may, 
for  argumentative  purposes,  be  more  misleading  than  a 
complete  falsehood.  "  To-day,  as  in  the  days  of  George 
Washington  " — so  Mr.  Wilson  was  informed — "  nearly  half 


2T4  NATIONALISTS  AND   CONSCRIPTION 

the  American  forces  have  been  furnished  from  the 
descendants  of  our  banished  race."  No  mention  was  made 
of  the  fact  that  the  members  of  the  "  banished  race  "  in 
Washington's  army  were  Presbyterian  emigrants  from 
Ulster,  who  formed  almost  the  entire  population  of  great 
districts  in  the  American  Colonies  at  that  time.^  The  late 
Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid  told  an  Edinburgh  audience  in  1911 
that  more  than  half  the  Presbyterian  population  of  Ulster 
emigrated  to  America  between  1730  and  1770,  and  that 
at  the  date  of  the  Revolution  they  made  more  than  one- 
sixth  of  the  population  of  the  Colonies.  The  Declaration 
of  Independence  itself,  he  added — 

"  Is  sacredly  preserved  in  the  handwriting  of  an  Ulster- 
man,  who  was  Secretary  of  Congress.  It  was  publicly  read 
by  an  Ulsterman,  and  first  printed  by  another.  Washing- 
ton's first  Cabinet  had  four  members,  of  whom  one  was 
an  Ulsterman."  * 

It  is,  of  course,  true  that  not  all  Ulster  Presbyterians 
of  that  period  were  the  firm  and  loyal  friends  of  Great 
Britain  that  their  descendants  became  after  a  century's 
experience  of  the  legislative  Union.  But  it  is  the  latter 
who  best  in  Ireland  can  trace  kinship  with  the  founders 
of  the  United  States,  and  who  are  entitled — if  any  Irishmen 
are — to  base  on  that  kinship  a  claim  to  the  sympathy  and 
support  of  the  American  people. 

1  See  Lecky's  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  vol.  iv,  p.  430. 

2  See  Lecture  to  the  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Institution  by  Whitelaw 
Reid,  reported  in  The  Scotsman,  November  2nd,  1911. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

THE   ULSTER   PARLIAMENT 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1918,  the  Parliament  elected  in 
December  1910  was  at  last  dissolved,  a  few  days  after  the 
Armistice  with  Germany.  The  new  House  of  Commons 
was  very  different  from  the  old.  Seventy-two  Sinn  Fein 
members  were  returned  from  Ireland,  sweeping  away  all 
but  half  a  dozen  of  the  old  Nationalist  party ;  but,  in  accor- 
dance with  their  fixed  policy,  the  Sinn  Fein  members  never 
presented  themselves  at  Westminster  to  take  the  oath  and 
their  seats.  That  quarter  of  the  House  of  Commons  which 
for  thirty  years  had  been  packed  with  the  most  fierce  and 
disciplined  of  the  political  parties  was  therefore  now  given 
over  to  mild  supporters  of  the  Coalition  Government,  the 
only  remnant  of  so-called  "  constitutional  Nationalism  " 
being  Mr.  T.  P.  O'Connor,  Mr.  Devlin,  Captain  Redmond, 
and  two  or  three  less  prominent  companions,  who  survived 
like  monuments  of  a  bygone  age. 

Ulster  Unionists,  on  the  other  hand,  were  greatly  streng- 
thened by  the  recent  Redistribution  Act.  Sir  Edward 
Carson  was  elected  member  for  the  great  working-class 
constituency  of  the  Duncairn  Division  of  Belfast,  instead 
of  for  Dublin  University,  which  he  had  so  long  represented, 
and  twenty-two  ardent  supporters  accompanied  him  from 
Ulster  to  Westminster.  In  the  reconstruction  of  the  Govern- 
ment which  followed  the  election,  Carson  was  pressed  to 
return  to  office,  but  declined.  Colonel  James  Craig,  whose 
war  services  in  connection  with  the  Ulster  Division  were 
rewarded  by  a  baronetcy,  became  Parliamentary  Secretary 
to  the  Ministry  of  Pensions,  and  the  Marquis  of  London- 
derry accepted  office  as  Parliamentary  Under-Secretary  of 
State  in  the  Air  Ministry. 

Although  the  termination  of  hostilities  by  the  Armistice 

276 


276  THE   ULSTER   PARLIAMENT 

was  not  in  the  legal  sense  the  "  end  of  the  war,"  it  brought 
it  within  sight.  No  one  in  January  1919  dreamt  that  the 
process  of  making  peace  and  ratifying  the  necessary  treaties 
would  drag  on  for  a  seemingly  interminable  length  of  time, 
and  it  was  realised,  with  grave  misgiving  in  Ulster,  that  the 
Home  Rule  Act  of  1914  would  necessarily  come  into  force 
as  soon  as  peace  was  finally  declared,  while  as  yet  nothing 
had  been  done  to  redeem  the  promise  of  an  Amending  Bill 
given  by  Mr.  Asquith,  and  reiterated  by  Mr.  Lloyd  George. 
The  compact  between  the  latter  and  the  Unionist  Party,  on 
which  the  Coalition  had  swept  the  country,  had  made  it 
clear  that  fresh  Irish  legislation  was  to  be  expected,  and 
the  general  lines  on  which  it  would  be  based  were  laid 
down  ;  but  there  was  also  an  intimation  that  a  settlement 
must  wait  till  the  condition  of  Ireland  should  warrant  it.^ 

The  state  of  Ireland  was  certainly  not  such  as  to  make 
it  appear  probable  that  any  sane  Government  would  take 
the  risk  of  handing  over  control  of  the  country  immediately 
to  the  Sinn  Feiners,  whom  the  recent  elections  had  proved 
to  be  in  an  overwhelming  majority  in  the  three  southern 
provinces.  By  the  law,  not  of  England  alone,  but  of  every 
civilised  State,  that  party  was  tainted  through  and  through 
with  high  treason.  It  had  attempted  to  "  succour  the 
King's  enemies  "  in  every  way  in  its  power.  The  Govern- 
ment had  in  its  possession  evidence  of  two  conspiracies,  in 
which,  during  the  late  frightful  war,  these  Irishmen  had 
been  in  league  with  the  Germans  to  bring  defeat  and  dis- 
aster upon  England  and  her  Allies,  and  the  second  of  these 
plots  was  only  made  possible  by  the  misconceived  clemency 
of  the  Government  in  releasing  from  custody  the  ring- 
leaders in  the  first. 

And  these  Sinn  Fein  rebels  left  the  Government  no  excuse 
for  any  illusion  as  to  their  being  either  chastened  or  con- 
trite in  spirit.  Contemptuously  ignoring  their  election  as 
members  of  the  Imperial  Parliament,  where  they  never  put 
in  an  appearance  because  it  would  require  them  to  take 
an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Crown,  they  openly  held  a 
Congress  in  Dublin  in  January  1919  where  a  Declaration 

1  See  Letter  from  Mr.  Lloyd  George  to  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  published  in 
the  Press  on  November  ISth,  1918. 


1919]  INCREASING   ANARCHY  277 

of  Independence  was  read,  and  a  demand  made  for  the 
evacuation  of  Ireland  by  the  forces  of  the  Crown.  A 
"  Ministry  "  was  also  appointed,  which  purported  to  make 
itself  responsible  for  administration  in  Ireland.  Outrages 
of  a  daring  character  became  more  and  more  frequent,  and 
gave  evidence  of  being  the  work  of  efficient  organisation. 

President  Wilson's  coinage  of  the  unfortunate  and  am- 
biguous expression  "  self-determination"  made  it  a' catch- 
penny cry  in  relation  to  Ireland ;  but,  in  reply  to  Mr. 
Devlin's  demand  for  a  recognition  of  that  "  principle," 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  pointed  out  that  it  had  been  tried  in  the 
Convention,  with  the  result  that  both  Nationalists  and 
Unionists  had  been  divided  among  themselves,  and  he  said 
he  despaired  of  any  settlement  in  Ireland  until  Irishmen 
could  agree.  Nevertheless,  in  October  1919  he  appointed 
a  Cabinet  Committee,  with  Mr.  Walter  Long  as  Chairman, 
to  make  recommendations  for  dealing  with  the  question  of 
Irish  Government. 

But  murders  of  soldiers  and  police  had  now  become  so 
scandalously  frequent  that  in  November  a  Proclamation 
was  issued  suppressing  Sinn  Fein  and  kindred  organisations. 
It  did  nothing  to  improve  the  state  of  the  country,  which 
grew  worse  than  ever  in  the  last  few  weeks  of  the  year. 
On  the  19th  of  December  a  carefully  planned  attempt  on 
the  life  of  the  Lord-Lieutenant,  Lord  French,  proved  how 
complete  was  the  impunity  relied  upon  by  the  organised 
assassins  who,  calling  themselves  an  Irish  Republican  Army, 
terrorised  the  country. 

It  was  in  such  conditions  that,  just  before  the  close  of  the 
parliamentary  session,  the  Prime  Minister  disclosed  the 
intentions  of  the  Government.  He  laid  down  three  "  basic 
facts,"  which  he  said  governed  the  situation :  (1)  Three- 
fourths  of  the  Irish  people  were  bitterly  hostile,  and  were 
at  heart  rebels  against  the  Crown  and  Government.  (2) 
Ulster  was  a  complete  contrast,  which  would  make  it  an 
outrage  to  place  her  people  under  the  rest  of  Ireland.^ 
(3)  No  separation  from  the  Empire  could  be  tolerated,  and 
any  attempt  to  force  it  would  be  fought  as  the  United  States 

1  Precisely  twenty-four  months  later  this  outrage  was  committed  by 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  himself,  with  the  concurrence  of  Mr.  Austen  Chamberlain. 


278  THE  ULSTER  PARLIAMENT 

had  fought  against  secession.  On  these  considerations  he 
based  the  proposals  which  were  to  be  embodied  in  legis- 
lation in  the  next  session.  Sir  Edward  Carson,  who  in 
the  light  of  past  experience  was  too  wary  to  take  all  Mr. 
Lloyd  George's  declarations  at  their  face  value,  said  at 
once  that  he  could  give  no  support  to  the  policy  outlined 
by  the  Prime  Minister  until  he  was  convinced  that  the 
latter  intended  to  go  through  with  it  to  the  end. 

The  Bill  to  give  effect  to  these  proposals  (which  became 
the  Government  of  Ireland  Act,  1920)  was  formally  in- 
troduced on  the  25th  of  February,  1920,  and  Carson  then 
went  over  to  Belfast  to  consult  with  the  Unionist  Council 
as  to  the  action  to  be  taken  by  the  Ulster  members. 

The  measure  was  a  long  and  complicated  one  of  seventy 
clauses  and  six  schedules.  Its  effect,  stated  briefly,  was 
to  set  up  two  Parliaments  in  Ireland,  one  for  the  six  Pro- 
testant counties  of  Ulster  and  the  other  for  the  rest  of 
Ireland.  In  principle  it  was  the  "  clean  cut  "  which  had 
been  several  times  proposed,  except  that,  instead  of  retain- 
ing Ulster  in  legislative  union  with  Great  Britain,  she  was 
to  be  endowed  with  local  institutions  of  her  own  in  every 
respect  similar  to,  and  commensurate  with,  those  given  to 
the  Parliament  in  Dublin.  In  addition,  a  Council  of  Ireland 
was  created,  composed  of  an  equal  number  of  members 
from  each  of  the  two  legislatures.  This  Council  was  given 
powers  in  regard  to  private  bill  legislation,  and  matters  of 
minor  importance  affecting  both  parts  of  the  island  which 
the  two  Parliaments  might  mutually  agree  to  commit  to  its 
administration.  Power  was  given  to  the  two  Parliaments 
to  establish  by  identical  Acts  at  any  time  a  Parliament 
for  all  Ireland  to  supersede  the  Council,  and  to  form  a 
single  autonomous  constitution  for  the  whole  of  Ireland. 

The  Council  of  Ireland  occupied  a  prominent  place  in 
the  debates  on  the  Bill.  It  was  held  up  as  a  symbol  of  the 
"  unity  of  Ireland,"  and  the  authors  of  the  measure  were 
able  to  point  to  it  as  supplying  machinery  by  which 
"  partition "  could  be  terminated  as  soon  as  Irishmen 
agreed  among  themselves  in  wishing  to  have  a  single 
national  Government.  It  was  not  a  feature  of  the  Bill  that 
found  favour  in  Ulster ;  but,  as  it  could  do  no  harm  and 


1920]  SIX   COUNTIES  OR   NINE?  279 

provided  an  argument  against  those  who  denounced  "  par- 
tition," the  Ulster  members  did  not  think  it  worth  while 
to  oppose  it. 

But  when  Carson  met  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  on 
the  6th  of  March  the  most  difficult  point  he  had  to  deal 
with  was  the  same  that  had  given  so  much  trouble  in  the 
negotiations  of  1916.  The  Bill  defined  the  area  subject 
to  the  "  Parliament  of  Northern  Ireland "  as  the  six 
counties  which  the  Ulster  Council  had  agreed  four  years 
earlier  to  accept  as  the  area  to  be  excluded  from  the 
Home  Rule  Act.  The  question  now  to  be  decided  was 
whether  this  same  area  should  still  be  accepted,  or  an 
amendment  moved  for  including  in  Northern  Ireland  the 
other  three  counties  of  the  Province  of  Ulster.  The  same 
harrowing  experience  which  the  Council  had  undergone  in 
1916  was  repeated  in  an  aggravated  form.^  To  separate 
themselves  from  fellow  loyalists  in  Monaghan,  Cavan,  and 
Donegal  was  hateful  to  every  delegate  from  the  other  six 
counties,  and  it  was  heartrending  to  be  compelled  to  resist 
another  moving  appeal  by  so  valued  a  friend  as  Lord 
Farnham.  But  the  inexorable  index  of  statistics  demon- 
strated that,  although  Unionists  were  in  a  majority  when 
geographical  Ulster  was  considered  as  a  unit,  yet  the 
distribution  of  population  made  it  certain  that  a  separate 
Parliament  for  the  whole  Province  would  have  a  precarious 
existence,  while  its  administration  of  purely  Nationalist 
districts  would  mean  unending  conflict. 

It  was,  therefore,  decided  that  no  proposal  for  extending 
the  area  should  be  made  by  the  Ulster  members.  Carson 
made  it  clear  in  the  debates  on  the  Bill  that  Ulster  had 
not  moved  from  her  old  position  of  desiring  nothing  except 
the  Union  ;  that  he  was  still  convinced  there  was  "  no 
alternative  to  the  Union  unless  separation  "  ;  but  that, 
while  he  would  take  no  responsibility  for  a  Bill  which 
Ulster  did  iiot  want,  he  and  his  colleagues  would  not 
actively  oppose  its  progress  to  the  Statute-book. 

It  did  not,  however,  receive  the  Royal  Assent  until  two 
days  before  Christmas,  and  during  all  these  months  the 
condition  of  Ireland  was  one  of  increasing  anarchy.     The 

1  Ante,  p.  248. 
19 


280  THE  ULSTER  PARLIAMENT 

Act  provided  that,  if  the  people  of  Southern  Ireland 
refused  to  work  the  new  Constitution,  the  administration 
should  be  carried  on  by  a  system  similar  to  Crown  Colony 
government.  Carson  gave  an  assurance  that  in  Ulster 
they  would  do  their  best  to  make  the  Act  a  success,  and 
immediate  steps  were  taken  in  Belfast  to  make  good  this 
undertaking. 

To  the  people  of  Ulster  the  Act  of  1920,  though  it 
involved  the  sacrifice  of  much  that  they  had  ardently 
hoped  to  preserve,  came  as  a  relief  to  their  worst  fears.  It 
was  represented  as  a  final  settlement,  and  finality  was 
what  they  chiefly  desired,  if  they  could  get  it  without 
being  forced  to  submit  to  a  Dublin  Parliament.  The 
disloyal  conduct  of  Nationalist  Ireland  during  the  war, 
and  the  treason  and  terrorism  organised  by  Sinn  Fein 
after  the  war,  had  widened  the  already  broad  gulf  between 
North  and  South.  The  determination  never  to  submit  to 
an  all-Ireland  Parliament  was  more  firmly  fixed  than  ever. 
The  Act  of  1920,  which  repealed  Mr.  Asquith's  Act  of  1914, 
gave  Ulster  what  she  had  prepared  to  fight  for,  if  necessary, 
before  the  war.  It  was  the  fulfilment  of  the  Craigavon 
resolution — to  take  over  the  government  "  of  those 
districts  which  they  could  control."  ^  The  Parliament  of 
Northern  Ireland  established  by  the  Act  was  in  fact  the 
legalisation  of  the  Ulster  Provisional  Government  of  1913. 
It  placed  Ulster  in  a  position  of  equality  with  the  South, 
both  politically  and  economically.  The  two  Legislatures  in 
Ireland  possessed  the  same  powers,  and  were  subject  to  an 
equal  reservation  of  authority  to  the  Imperial  Parliament. 

But  with  the  passing  of  the  Act  the  long  and  consummate 
leadership  of  Sir  Edward  Carson  came  to  an  end.  If  he 
had  not  succeeded  in  bringing  the  Ulster  people  into  a 
Promised  Land,  he  had  at  least  conducted  an  orderly 
retreat  to  a  position  of  safety.  The  almost  miraculous 
skill  with  which  he  had  directed  all  the  operations  of  a 
protracted  and  harassing  campaign,  avoiding  traps  and 
pitfalls  at  every  step,  foreseeing  and  providing  against 
countless  crises,  frustrating  with  unfailing  adroitness  the 
manceuvres  both  of  implacable  enemies  and  treacherous 

1  See  ante,  p.  51. 


1921]  END   OF   CARSON'S   LEADERSHIP  281 

"  friends,"  was  fully  appreciated  by  his  grateful  followers, 
who  had  for  years  past  regarded  him  with  an  intensity  of 
personal  devotion  seldom  given  even  to  the  greatest  of 
political  leaders.  But  he  felt  that  the  task  of  opening  a 
new  chapter  in  the  history  of  Ulster,  and  of  inaugurating 
the  new  institutions  now  established,  was  work  for  younger 
hands.  Hard  as  he  was  pressed  to  accept  the  position  of 
first  Prime  Minister  of  Ulster,  he  firmly  persisted  in  his 
refusal ;  and  on  his  recommendation  the  man  who  had 
been  his  able  and  faithful  lieutenant  throughout  the  long 
Ulster  Movement  was  unanimously  chosen  to  succeed  him 
in  the  leadership. 

Sir  James  Craig  did  not  hesitate  to  respond  to  the  call, 
although  to  do  so  he  had  to  resign  an  important  post  in  the 
British  Government,  that  of  Parliamentary  Secretary  to 
the  Admiralty,  with  excellent  prospects  of  further  pro- 
motion. As  soon  as  the  elections  in  "  Northern  Ireland," 
conducted  under  the  system  of  Proportional  Representa- 
tion, as  provided  by  the  Act  of  1920,  were  complete.  Sir 
James,  whose  followers  numbered  forty  as  against  a 
Nationalist  and  Sinn  Fein  minority  of  twelve,  was  sent  for 
by  the  Viceroy  and  commissioned  to  form  a  Ministry.  He 
immediately  set  himself  to  his  new  and  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult duties  with  characteristic  thoroughness.  The  whole 
apparatus  of  government  administration  had  to  be  built 
up  from  the  foundation.  Departments,  for  which  there 
was  no  existing  office  accommodation  or  personnel,  had  to 
be  called  into  existence  and  efficiently  organised,  and  all 
this  preliminary  work  had  to  be  undertaken  at  a  time  when 
the  territory  subject  to  the  new  Government  was  beset  by 
open  and  concealed  enemies  working  havoc  with  bombs 
and  revolvers,  with  which  the  Government  had  not  yet 
legal  power  to  cope. 

But  Sir  James  Craig  pressed  on  with  the  work,  undis- 
mayed by  the  difficulties,  and  resolved  that  the  Parliament 
in  Belfast  should  be  opened  at  the  earliest  possible  date. 
The  Marquis  of  Londonderry  gave  a  fresh  proof  of  his 
Ulster  patriotism  by  resigning  his  office  in  the  Imperial 
Government  and  accepting  the  portfolio  of  Education  in 
Sir  James  Craig's  Cabinet,  and  with  it  the  leadership  of  the 


282  THE  ULSTER   PARLIAMENT 

Ulster  Senate  ;  in  which  the  Duke  of  Abercorn  also,  to  the 
great  satisfaction  of  the  Ulster  people,  consented  to  take 
a  seat.  Mr.  Dawson  Bates,  the  indefatigable  Secretary  of 
the  Ulster  Unionist  Council  during  the  whole  of  the  Ulster 
Movement,  was  appointed  Minister  for  Home  Affairs,  and 
Mr.  E.  M.  Archdale  became  Minister  for  Agriculture.  The 
first  act  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  Northern  Ireland  was 
to  choose  Major  Hugh  O'Neill  as  their  Speaker,  while  the 
important  position  of  Chairman  of  Committees  was  en- 
trusted to  Mr.  Thomas  Moles,  one  of  the  ablest  recruits 
of  the  Ulster  Parliamentary  Party,  whom  the  General 
Election  of  1918  had  sent  to  Westminster  as  one  of  the 
members  for  Belfast,  and  who  had  given  ample  evidence 
of  his  capacity  both  in  the  Imperial  Parliament  and  on  the 
Secretarial  Staff  of  the  Irish  Convention  of  1917. 

Meantime,  in  the  South  the  Act  of  1920  was  treated  with 
absolute  contempt ;  no  step  was  taken  to  hold  elections 
or  to  form  an  Administration,  although  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  flouted  Act  conferred  a  larger  measure  of 
Home  Rule  than  had  ever  been  offered  by  previous  Bills. 
Thus  by  one  of  those  curious  ironies  that  have  continually 
marked  the  history  of  Ireland,  the  only  part  of  the  island 
where  Home  Rule  operated  was  the  part  that  had  never 
desired  it,  while  the  provinces  that  had  demanded  Home 
Rule  for  generations  refused  to  use  it  when  it  was  granted 
them. 

In  Ulster  the  new  order  of  things  was  accepted  with 
acquiescence  rather  than  with  enthusiasm.  But  the 
warmer  emotion  was  immediately  called  forth  when  it 
became  known  that  His  Majesty  the  King  had  decided  to 
open  the  Ulster  Parliament  in  person  on  the  22nd  of  June, 
1921,  especially  as  it  was  fully  realised  that,  owing  to  the 
anarchical  condition  of  the  country,  the  King's  presence  in 
Belfast  would  be  a  characteristic  disregard  of  personal 
danger  in  the  discharge  of  public  duty.  And  when,  on  the 
eve  of  the  royal  visit,  it  was  intimated  that  the  Queen  had 
been  graciously  pleased  to  accede  to  Sir  James  Craig's 
request  that  she  should  accompany  the  King  to  Belfast, 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  loyal  people  of  the  North  rose  to 
fever  heat. 


1921]  THEIR  MAJESTIES   IN  BELFAST  283 

At  any  time,  and  under  any  circumstances,  the  reigning 
Sovereign  and  his  Consort  would  have  been  received  by  a 
population  so  noted  for  its  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the 
Throne  as  that  of  Ulster  with  demonstrations  of  devotion 
exceeding  the  ordinary.  But  the  present  occasion  was 
felt  to  have  a  very  special  significance.  The  opening  of 
Parliament  by  the  King  in  State  is  one  of  the  most  ancient 
and  splendid  of  ceremonial  pageants  illustrating  the  history 
of  British  institutions.  It  was  felt  in  Ulster  that  the 
association  of  this  time-honoured  ceremonial  with  the 
baptism,  so  to  speak,  of  the  latest  offspring  of  the  Mother 
of  Parliaments  stamped  the  Royal  Seal  upon  the  achieve- 
ment of  Ulster,  and  gave  it  a  dignity,  prestige,  and  promise 
of  permanence  which  might  otherwise  have  been  lacking. 
No  city  in  the  United  Kingdom  had  witnessed  so  many 
extraordinary  displays  of  popular  enthusiasm  in  the  last 
ten  years  as  Belfast,  some  of  which  had  left  on  the  minds 
of  observers  a  firm  belief  that  such  intensity  of  emotion 
in  a  great  concourse  of  people  could  not  be  exceeded.  The 
scene  in  the  streets  when  the  King  and  Queen  drove  from 
the  quay,  on  the  arrival  of  the  royal  yacht,  to  the  City 
Hall,  was  held  by  general  consent  to  equal,  since  it  could 
not  surpass,  any  of  those  great  demonstrations  of  the 
past  in  popular  fervour.  At  any  rate,  persons  of  long 
experience  in  attendance  on  the  Royal  Family  gave  it  as 
their  opinion  in  the  evening  that  they  had  never  before 
seen  so  impressive  a  display  of  public  devotion  to  the 
person  of  the  Sovereign. 

Two  buildings  in  Belfast  inseparably  associated  with 
Ulster's  stand  for  union,  the  City  Hall  and  the  Ulster  Hall, 
were  the  scenes  of  the  chief  events  of  the  King's  visit.  The 
former,  described  by  one  of  the  English  correspondents  as 
"  easily  the  most  magnificent  municipal  building  in  the 
three  Kingdoms,"  *  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Ulster 
Government  by  the  Corporation  for  temporary  use  as  a 
Parliament  House.  The  Council  Chamber,  a  fine  hall  of 
dignified  proportions  with  a  dais  and  canopied  chair  at  the 
upper  end,  made  an  appropriate  frame  for  the  ceremony  of 
opening  Parliament,   and  the  arrangements  both  of  the 

1  The  Morning  Post,  June  23rd,  1921. 


284  THE  ULSTER  PARLIAMENT 

Chamber  itself  and  of  the  approaches  and  entrances  to  it 
made  it  a  simple  matter  to  model  the  procedure  as  closely 
as  possible  on  that  followed  at  Westminster. 

Among  the  many  distinguished  people  who  assembled 
in  the  Ulster  Capital  for  the  occasion,  there  was  one  notable 
absentee.  Lord  Carson  of  Duncairn — for  this  was  the  title 
that  Sir  Edward  Carson  had  assumed  on  being  appointed 
a  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary  a  few  weeks  previously — 
was  detained  in  London  by  judicial  duty  in  the  House 
of  Lords  ;  and  possibly  reasons  of  delicacy  not  difficult 
to  understand  restrained  him  from  making  arrangements 
for  absence.  But  the  marked  ovation  given  to  Lady 
Carson  wherever  she  was  recognised  in  the  streets  of  Belfast 
showed  that  the  great  leader  was  not  absent  from  the 
popular  mind  at  this  moment  of  vindication  of  his  states- 
manship. 

Such  an  event  as  that  which  brought  His  Majesty  to 
Belfast  was  naturally  an  occasion  for  bestowing  marks  of 
distinction  for  public  service.  Sir  James  Craig  wisely 
made  it  also  an  occasion  for  letting  bygones  be  bygones 
by  recommending  Lord  Pirrie  for  a  step  in  the  Peerage. 
Among  those  who  received  honours  were  several  whose 
names  have  appeared  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this 
book.  Mr.  William  Robert  Young,  for  thirty  years  one  of 
the  most  indefatigable  workers  for  the  Unionist  cause  in 
Ulster,  and  Colonel  Wallace,  one  of  the  most  influential  of 
Carson's  local  lieutenants,  were  made  Privy  Councillors, 
as  was  also  Colonel  Percival-Maxwell,  who  raised  and  com- 
manded a  battalion  of  the  Ulster  Division  in  the  war. 
Colonel  F.  H.  Crawford  and  Colonel  Spender  were  awarded 
the  C.B.E.  for  services  to  the  nation  during  the  war;  but 
Ulstermen  did  not  forget  services  of  another  sort  to  the 
Ulster  cause  before  the  Germans  came  on  the  scene.*  A 
knighthood  was  given  to  Mr.  Dawson  Bates,  who  had 
exchanged  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council 
for  the  portfolio  of  a  Cabinet  Minister. 

These  honours  were  bestowed  by  the  King  in  person  at 
an  investiture  held  in  the  Ulster  Hall  in  the  afternoon. 
There  must  have  been  many  present  whose  minds  went 

1  See  ante.  Chapter  XVIII. 


1921]  THE   KING'S   SPEECH  285 

back  to  some  of  the  most  stirring  events  of  Ulster's  domestic 
history  which  had  been  transacted  in  the  same  building 
within  recent  years.  Did  Sir  Hamar  Greenwood,  the  Chief 
Secretary,  as  he  stood  in  attendance  on  the  Sovereign  in  the 
resplendent  uniform  of  a  Privy  Councillor,  look  in  curiosity 
round  the  walls  which  he  and  Mr.  Churchill  had  been  pro- 
hibited from  entering  on  a  memorable  occasion  when 
they  had  to  content  themselves  with  an  imported  tent  in  a 
football  field  instead  ?  Did  Colonel  Wallace's  thoughts 
wander  back  to  the  scene  of  wild  enthusiasm  in  that  hall  on 
the  evening  before  the  Covenant,  when  he  presented  the 
ancient  Boyne  flag  to  the  Ulster  leader  ?  Did  those  who 
spontaneously  started  the  National  Anthem  in  the  presence 
of  the  King  without  warrant  from  the  prearranged 
programme,  and  made  the  Queen  smile  at  the  emphasis 
with  which  they  "  confounded  politics  "  and  "  frustrated 
knavish  tricks,"  remember  the  fervour  with  which  on  many 
a  past  occasion  the  same  strains  testified  to  Ulster's  loyalty 
in  the  midst  of  perplexity  and  apprehension  ?  If  these 
memories  crowded  in,  they  must  have  added  to  the  sense 
of  relief  arising  from  the  conviction  that  the  ceremony 
they  were  now  witnessing  was  the  realisation  of  the  policy 
propounded  by  Carson,  when  he  declared  that  Ulster  must 
always  be  ruled  either  by  the  Imperial  Parliament  or  by  a 
Government  of  her  own. 

But  the  moment  of  all  others  on  that  memorable  day 
that  must  have  been  suggestive  of  such  reflections  was  when 
the  King  formally  opened  the  first  Parliament  of  Northern 
Ireland  in  the  same  building  that  had  witnessed  the  signing 
of  the  Ulster  Covenant.  Without  the  earlier  event  the 
later  could  not  have  been.  If  1921  could  have  been  fully 
foreseen  in  1912  it  might  have  appeared  to  many  Cove- 
nanters as  the  disappointment  of  a  cherished  ideal.  But 
those  who  lived  to  listen  to  the  King's  Speech  in  the  City 
Hall  realised  that  it  was  the  dissipation  of  foreboding. 
However  regarded,  it  was,  as  King  George  himself  pro- 
nounced, "  a  profoundly  moving  occasion  in  Irish  history." 

The  Speech  from  the  Throne  in  which  these  words 
occurred  made  a  deep  impression  all  over  the  world, 
and  nowhere  more  than  in  Ulster  itself.     No  people  more 


286  THE   ULSTER  PARLIAMENT 

ardently  shared  the  touchingly  expressed  desire  of  the  King 
that  his  coming  to  Ireland  might  "  prove  to  be  the  first 
step  towards  an  end  of  strife  amongst  her  people,  what- 
ever their  race  or  creed."  So,  too,  when  His  Majesty  told 
the  Ulster  Parliament  that  he  "  felt  assured  they  would  do 
their  utmost  to  make  it  an  instrument  of  happiness  and 
good  government  for  all  parts  of  the  community  which 
they  represented,"  the  Ulster  people  believed  that  the 
King's  confidence  in  them  would  not  prove  to  have  been 
misplaced. 

Happily,  no  prophetic  vision  of  those  things  that  were 
shortly  to  come  to  pass  broke  in  to  disturb  the  sense  of 
satisfaction  with  the  haven  that  had  been  reached.  The 
future,  with  its  treachery,  its  alarms,  its  fresh  causes  of 
uncertainty  and  of  conflict,  was  mercifully  hidden  from 
the  eyes  of  the  Ulster  people  when  they  acclaimed  the 
inauguration  of  their  Parliament  by  their  King.  They 
accepted  responsibility  for  the  efficient  working  of 
institutions  thus  placed  in  their  keeping  by  the  highest 
constitutional  Authority  in  the  British  Empire,  although 
they  had  never  asked  for  them,  and  still  believed  that  the 
system  they  had  been  driven  to  abandon  was  better  than 
the  new  ;  and  they  opened  this  fresh  chapter  in  their  history 
in  firm  faith  that  what  had  received  so  striking  a  token  of 
the  Sovereign's  sympathy  and  approval  would  never  be 
taken  from  them  except  with  their  own  consent. 


APPENDIX  A 
NATIONALIST    LETTER    TO    PRESIDENT    WILSON 

To  THE  President  of  the  United  States  of  America 

Sir, 

When,  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  the  American  Colonies  dared 
to  assert  the  ancient  principle  that  the  subject  should  not  be  taxed 
without  the  consent  of  his  representatives,  England  strove  to  crush 
them.  To-day  England  threatens  to  crush  the  people  of  Ireland  if 
they  do  not  accept  a  tax,  not  in  money  but  in  blood,  against  the 
protest  of  their  representatives. 

During  the  American  Revolution  the  champions  of  your  liberties 
appealed  to  the  Irish  Parliament  against  British  aggression,  and 
asked  for  a  sympathetic  judgment  on  their  action.  What  the 
verdict  was,  history  records. 

To-day  it  is  our  turn  to  appeal  to  the  people  of  America.  We 
seek  no  more  fitting  prelude  to  that  appeal  than  the  terms  in  which 
your  forefathers  greeted  ours  : 

"  We  are  desirous  of  possessing  the  good  opinion  of  the  virtuous 
and  humane.  We  are  peculiarly  desirous  of  furnishing  you  with 
the  true  state  of  our  motives  and  objects,  the  better  to  enable  you 
to  judge  of  our  conduct  with  accuracy,  and  determine  the  merits  of 
the  controversy  with  impartiality  and  precision." 

If  the  Irish  race  had  been  conscriptable  by  England  in  the  war 
against  the  United  Colonies  is  it  certain  that  your  Republic  would 
to-day  flourish  in  the  enjoyment  of  its  noble  Constitution  ? 

Since  then  the  Irish  Parliament  has  been  destroyed,  by  methods 
described  by  the  greatest  of  British  statesmen  as  those  of  "  black- 
guardism and  baseness."  Ireland,  deprived  of  its  protection  and 
overborne  by  more  than  six  to  one  in  the  British  Lower  House,  and 
by  more  than  a  hundred  to  one  in  the  Upper  House,  is  summoned 
by  England  to  submit  to  a  hitherto-unheard-of  decree  against  her 
liberties. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  a  war  ostensibly  begun  for  the  defence  of 
small  nations,  a  law  conscribing  the  manhood  of  Ireland  has  been 
passed,  in  defiance  of  the  wishes  of  our  people.    The  British  Parlla- 

287 


288  NATIONALIST  LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT  WILSON 

ment,  which  enacted  it,  had  long  outrun  its  course,  being  in  the 
eighth  year  of  an  existence  constitutionally  limited  to  five.  To 
warrant  the  coercive  statute,  no  recourse  was  had  to  the  electorate 
of  Britain,  much  less  to  that  of  Ireland.  Yet  the  measure  was 
forced  through  within  a  week,  despite  the  votes  of  Irish  representa- 
tives, and  under  a  system  of  closure  never  applied  to  the  debates 
which  established  conscription  for  Great  Britain  on  a  milder  basis. 

To  repel  the  calumnies  invented  to  becloud  our  action,  we  venture 
to  address  the  successors  of  the  belligerents  who  once  appealed  to 
Ireland.  The  feelings  which  inspire  America  deeply  concern  our 
race  ;  so,  in  the  forefront  of  our  remonstrance,  we  feel  bound  to  set 
forth  that  this  Conscription  Act  involves  for  Irishmen  questions  far 
larger  than  any  affecting  mere  internal  politics.  They  raise  a 
sovereign  principle  between  a  nation  that  has  never  abandoned  her 
independent  rights,  and  an  adjacent  nation  that  has  persistently 
sought  to  strangle  them. 

Were  Ireland  to  surrender  that  principle,  she  must  submit  to  a 
usurped  power,  condone  the  fraudulent  prostration  of  her  Parliament 
in  1800,  and  abandon  all  claim  to  distinct  nationality.  Deep-seated 
and  far-reaching  are  the  problems  remorselessly  aroused  by  the 
unthinking  and  violent  courses  taken  at  Westminster. 

Thus  the  sudden  and  unlooked-for  departure  of  British  politicians 
from  their  past  military  procedure  towards  this  island  provokes 
acutely  the  fundamental  issue  of  Self-determination.  That  issue 
will  decide  whether  our  whole  economic,  social,  and  political  life 
must  lie  at  the  uncontrolled  disposition  of  another  race  whose  title 
to  legislate  for  us  rests  on  force  and  fraud  alone. 

Ireland  is  a  nation  more  ancient  than  England,  and  is  one  of  the 
oldest  in  Christendom.  Its  geographical  boundaries  are  clearly 
defined.  It  cherishes  its  own  traditions,  history,  language,  music, 
and  culture.  It  throbs  with  a  national  consciousness  sharpened  not 
only  by  religious  persecution,  but  by  the  violation  of  its  territorial, 
juristic,  and  legislative  rights.  The  authority  of  which  its  invaders 
boasted  rests  solely  on  an  alleged  Papal  Bull.  The  symbols  of 
attempted  conquest  are  roofless  castles,  ruined  abbeys,  and  con- 
fiscated cathedrals. 

The  title  of  King  of  Ireland  was  first  conferred  on  the  English 
monarch  by  a  statute  of  the  Parliament  held  in  Ireland  in  1542, 
when  only  four  of  our  counties  lay  under  English  sway.  That  title 
originated  in  no  English  enactment.  Neither  did  the  Irish  Parlia- 
ment so  originate.  Every  military  aid  granted  by  that  Parliament 
to  English  kings  was  purely  voluntary.  Even  when  the  Penal  Code 
denied  representation  to  the  majority  of  the  Irish  population, 
military  service  was  never  enforced  against  them. 

For  generations  England  claimed  control  over  both  legislative  and 
judicial  functions  in  Ireland,  but  in  1783  these  pretensions  were 
altogether  renounced,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  Irish  Legislature 
was  solemnly  recognised.     A  memorable  British  statute  declared  it — 


A   SPECIMEN  OF  LOGIC  289 

"  Established  and  ascertained  for  ever,  and  shall  at  no  time  here- 
after be  questioned  or  questionable." 

For  this,  the  spirit  evoked  by  the  successful  revolt  of  the  United 
States  of  America  is  to  be  thanked,  and  Ireland  won  no  mean  return 
for  the  sympathy  invited  by  your  Congress.  Yet  scarcely  had 
George  III  signified  his  Royal  Assent  to  that  "  scrap  of  paper,"  when 
his  Ministers  began  to  debauch  the  Irish  Parliament.  No  Catholic 
had,  for  over  a  century,  been  allowed  to  sit  within  its  walls ;  and 
only  a  handful  of  the  population  enjoyed  the  franchise.  In  1800, 
by  shameless  bribery,  a  majority  of  corrupt  Colonists  was  procured 
to  embrace  the  London  subjugation  and  vote  away  the  existence 
of  their  Legislature  for  pensions,  pelf,  and  titles. 

The  authors  of  the  Act  of  Union,  however,  sought  to  soften  its 
shackles  by  limiting  the  future  jurisdiction  of  the  British  Parliament. 
Imposed  on  "  a  reluctant  and  protesting  nation,"  it  was  tempered 
by  articles  guaranteeing  Ireland  against  the  coarser  and  more  obvious 
forms  of  injustice.  To  guard  against  undue  taxation,  "  exemptions 
and  abatements "  were  stipulated  for ;  but  the  "  predominant 
partner  "  has  long  since  dishonoured  that  part  of  the  contract,  and 
the  weaker  side  has  no  power  to  enforce  it.  No  military  burdens 
were  provided  for,  although  Britain  framed  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
to  her  own  liking.  That  an  obligation  to  yield  enforced  service  was 
thereby  undertaken  has  never  hitherto  been  asserted.  We  therefore 
cannot  neglect  to  support  this  protest  by  citing  a  main  proviso  of 
the  Treaty  of  Union.  Before  the  destruction  of  the  Irish  Parlia- 
ment no  standing  army  or  navy  was  raised,  nor  was  any  contribution 
made,  except  by  way  of  gift,  to  the  British  Army  or  Navy.  No 
Irish  law  for  the  levying  of  drafts  existed  ;  and  such  a  proposal  was 
deemed  unconstitutional.  Hence  the  8th  Article  of  the  Treaty 
provides  that — 

"  All  laws  in  force  at  the  time  of  the  Union  shall  remain  as  now 
by  law  established,  subject  only  to  such  alterations  and  regulations 
from  time  to  time  as  circumstances  may  appear  to  the  Parliament 
of  the  United  Kingdom  to  require." 

Where  there  was  no  law  establishing  military  service  for  Ireland, 
what  "  alteration  or  regulation  "  respecting  such  a  law  can  legally 
bind  ?  Can  an  enactment  such  as  Conscription,  affecting  the  legal 
and  moral  rights  of  an  entire  people,  be  described  as  an  "  alteration  " 
or  "  regulation  "  springing  from  a  pre-existing  law  ?  Is  the  Treaty 
to  be  construed  as  Britain  pleases,  and  always  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  weaker  side  ? 

British  military  statecraft  has  hitherto  rigidly  held  by  a  separate 
tradition  for  Ireland.  The  Territorial  military  system,  created  in 
1907  for  Great  Britain,  was  not  set  up  in  Ireland.  The  Irish  Militia 
was  then  actually  disbanded,  and  the  War  Office  insisted  that  no 


290  NATIONALIST  LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT  WILSON 

Territorial  force  to  replace  it  should  be  embodied.  Stranger  still, 
the  Volunteer  Acts  (Naval  or  Military)  from  1804  to  1900  (some 
twenty  in  all)  were  never  extended  to  Ireland.  In  1880,  when  a 
Conservative  House  of  Commons  agreed  to  tolerate  volunteering, 
the  measure  was  thrown  out  by  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  plea  that 
Irishmen  must  not  be  allowed  to  learn  the  use  of  arms. 

For,  despite  the  Bill  of  Rights,  the  privilege  of  free  citizens  to 
bear  arms  in  self-defence  has  been  refused  to  us.  The  Constitution 
of  America  affirms  that  right  as  appertaining  to  the  common  people, 
but  the  men  of  Ireland  are  forbidden  to  bear  arms  in  their  own 
defence.  Where,  then,  lies  the  basis  of  the  claim  that  they  can  be 
forced  to  take  them  up  for  the  defence  of  others  ? 

It  will  suffice  to  present  such  considerations  in  outline  without 
disinterring  the  details  of  the  past  misgovemment  of  our  country. 
Mr.  Gladstone  avowed  that  these  were  marked  by  "  every  horror 
and  every  shame  that  could  disgrace  the  relations  between  a  strong 
country  and  a  weak  one."  After  an  orgy  of  Martial  Law  the 
Scottish  General,  Abercromby,  Commander-in-Chief  in  Ireland, 
wrote  :  "  Every  crime,  every  cruelty  that  could  be  committed  by 
Cossacks  or  Calmucks  has  been  transacted  here.  .  .  .  The  abuses  of 
all  kinds  I  found  can  scarcely  be  believed  or  enumerated."  Lord 
Holland  recalls  that  many  people  "  were  sold  at  so  much  a  head  to 
the  Prussians." 

We  shall,  therefore,  pass  by  the  story  of  the  destruction  of  our 
manufactures,  of  artificial  famines,  of  the  fomentation  of  uprisings, 
of  a  hundred  Coercion  Acts,  culminating  in  the  perpetual  "  Act  of 
Repression  "  obtained  by  forgery,  which  graced  Queen  Victoria's 
Jubilee  Year  in  1887.  In  our  island  the  suspension  of  the  Habeas 
Corpus  Act,  the  repression  of  free  speech,  gibbetings,  shootings,  and 
bayonetings,  are  commonplace  events.  The  effects  of  forced 
emigration  and  famine  American  generosity  has  softened ;  and  we 
do  not  seek  a  verdict  on  the  general  merits  of  a  system  which  enjoys 
the  commendation  of  no  foreigner  except  Albert,  Prince  Consort, 
who  declared  that  the  Irish  "  were  no  more  worthy  of  sympathy 
than  the  Poles." 

It  is  known  to  you  how  our  population  shrank  to  its  present  fallen 
state.  Grants  of  money  for  emigration,  "  especially  of  families," 
were  provided  even  by  the  Land  Act  of  1881.  Previous  Poor  Law 
Acts  had  stimulated  this  "  remedy."  So  late  as  1891  a  "  Congested 
District  "  Board  was  empowered  to  "  aid  emigration,"  although 
millions  of  Irishmen  had  in  the  nineteenth  century  been  evicted 
from  their  homes  or  driven  abroad. 

Seventy  years  ago  our  population  stood  at  8,000,000,  and,  in  the 
normal  ratio  of  increase,  it  should  to-day  amount  to  16,000,000. 
Instead,  it  has  dwindled  to  4,500,000 ;  and  it  is  from  this  residuum 
that  our  manhood  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  fifty-one  is  to 
be  delivered  up  in  such  measure  as  the  strategists  of  the  English 
War  Cabinet  may  demand. 


PERVERSION  OF  HISTORY  291 

To-day,  as  in  the  days  of  George  Washington,  nearly  half  the 
American  forces  have  been  furnished  from  the  descendants  of  our 
banished  race.  If  England  could  not,  during  your  Revolution, 
regard  that  enrolment  with  satisfaction,  might  she  not  set  something 
now  to  Ireland's  credit  from  the  racial  composition  of  your  Army 
or  Navy  ?  No  other  small  nation  has  been  so  bereft  by  law  of  her 
children,  but  in  vain  for  Ireland  has  the  bread  of  exile  been  thrown 
upon  the  waters. 

Yet,  while  Self-determination  is  refused,  we  are  required  by  law 
to  bleed  to  "  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy  " — in  every  country 
except  our  own.  Surely  this  cannot  be  the  meaning  of  America's 
message  to  mankind  glowing  from  the  pen  of  her  illustrious  President  ? 

In  the  750  years  during  which  the  stranger  sway  has  blighted 
Ireland  her  people  have  never  had  occasion  to  welcome  an  un- 
selfish or  generous  deed  at  the  hands  of  their  rulers.  Every 
so-called  "  concession  "  was  but  the  loosening  of  a  fetter.  Every 
benefit  sprang  from  a  manipulation  of  our  own  money  by  a  foreign 
Treasury  denying  us  an  honest  audit  of  accounts.  None  was 
yielded  as  an  act  of  grace.  All  were  the  offspring  of  constraint, 
tumult,  or  political  necessity.  Reason  and  arguments  fell  on  deaf 
ears.  To  England  the  Union  has  brought  enhanced  wealth,  popu- 
lation, power,  and  importance  ;  to  Ireland  increased  taxation, 
stunted  industries,  swollen  emigration,  and  callous  officialism. 

Possessing  in  this  land  neither  moral  nor  intellectual  pre-eminence, 
nor  any  prestige  derived  from  past  merit  or  present  esteem,  the 
British  Executive  claims  to  restrain  our  liberties,  control  our 
fortunes,  and  exercise  over  our  people  the  power  of  life  and  death. 
To  obstruct  the  recent  Home  Rule  Bill  it  allowed  its  favourites  to 
defy  its  Parliament  without  punishment,  to  import  arms  from 
suspect  regions  with  impunity,  to  threaten  "  to  break  every  law  " 
to  effectuate  their  designs  to  infect  the  Army  with  mutiny  and 
set  up  a  rival  Executive  backed  by  military  array  to  enforce  the 
rule  of  a  caste  against  the  vast  majority  of  the  people.  The  highest 
offices  of  State  became  the  guerdon  of  the  organisers  of  rebellion, 
boastful  of  aid  from  Germany.  To-day  they  are  pillars  of  the 
Constitution,  and  the  chief  instrument  of  law.  The  only  laurels 
lacking  to  the  leaders  of  the  Mutineers  are  those  transplanted  from 
the  field  of  battle  ! 

Are  we  to  fight  to  maintain  a  system  so  repugnant,  and  must 
Irishmen  be  content  to  remain  slaves  themselves  after  freedom  for 
distant  lands  has  been  purchased  by  their  blood  ? 

Heretofore  in  every  clime,  whenever  the  weak  called  for  a  de- 
fender, wherever  the  flag  of  liberty  was  unfurled,  that  blood  freely 
flowed.  Profiting  by  Irish  sympathy  with  righteous  causes  Britain, 
at  the  outbreak  of  war,  attracted  to  her  armies  tens  of  thousands 
of  our  youth  ere  even  the  Western  Hemisphere  had  awakened  to 
the  wail  of  "  small  nations." 

Irishmen,  in  their  chivalrous  eagerness,  laid  themselves  open  to 


292  NATIONALIST  LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT  WILSON 

the  reproach  from  some  of  their  brethren  of  forgetting  the  woes  of 
their  own  land,  which  had  suffered  from  its  rulers,  at  one  time  or 
another,  almost  every  inhumanity  for  which  Germany  is  impeached. 
It  was  hard  to  bear  the  taunt  that  the  army  they  were  joining  was 
that  which  held  Ireland  in  subjection  ;  but  fresh  bitterness  has 
been  added  to  such  reproaches  by  what  has  since  taken  place. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  face  of  persistent  discouragements,  Irish 
chivalry  remained  ardent  and  aflame  in  the  first  years  of  the  war. 
Tens  of  thousands  of  the  children  of  the  Gael  have  perished  in  the 
conflict.  Their  bones  bleach  upon  the  soil  of  Flanders  or  moulder 
beneath  the  waves  of  Suvla  Bay.  The  slopes  of  Gallipoli,  the 
sands  of  Egypt,  Mesopotamia  and  Judaea  afford  them  sepulture. 
Mons  and  Ypres  provide  their  monuments.  Wherever  the  battle- 
line  extends  from  the  English  Channel  to  the  Persian  Gulf  their 
ghostly  voices  whisper  a  response  to  the  roll-call  of  the  guardian- 
spirits  of  Liberty.     What  is  their  reward  ? 

The  spot  on  earth  they  loved  best,  and  the  land  to  which  they 
owed  their  first  duty,  and  which  they  hoped  their  sacrifices  might 
help  to  freedom,  lies  unredeemed  under  an  age-long  thraldom. 
So,  too,  would  it  for  ever  lie,  were  every  man  and  every  youth 
within  the  shores  of  Ireland  to  immolate  himself  in  England's  service, 
unless  the  clamour  of  a  dominant  caste  be  rebuked  and  stilled. 

Yet  proof  after  proof  accumulates  that  British  Cabinets  continue 
to  be  towards  our  country  as  conscienceless  as  ever.  They  deceive 
frankly  nations  throughout  the  world  as  to  their  Irish  policy,  while 
withholding  from  us  even  the  Act  of  Home  Rule  which  in  1914 
was  placed  on  the  Statute-book.  The  recent  "  Convention,"  which 
they  composed  to  initiate  reform,  was  brought  to  confusion  by  a 
letter  from  the  Prime  Minister  diminishing  his  original  engagements. 

Such  insincere  manoeuvres  have  left  an  indelible  sense  of  wrong 
rankling  in  the  hearts  of  Ireland. 

Capitulations  are  observed  with  French  Canadians,  with  the 
Maltese,  with  the  Hindoos,  with  the  Mohammedan  Arabs,  or  the 
African  Boers  ;  but  never  has  the  word  of  England,  in  any  capital 
case,  been  kept  towards  the  "  sister  "  island. 

The  Parliaments  of  Australia  and  of  South  Africa — both  of  which 
(unlike  our  ancient  Legislature)  were  founded  by  British  enactments 
— refused  to  adopt  conscription.  This  was  well  known  when  the 
law  against  Ireland  was  resolved  on.  For  opposing  the  application 
of  that  law  to  Irishmen,  and  while  this  appeal  to  you,  sir,  was 
being  penned,  members  of  our  Conference  have  been  arrested  and 
deported  without  trial.  It  was  even  sought  to  poison  the  wells  of 
American  sympathy  by  levelling  against  them  and  others  an  alle- 
gation which  its  authors  have  failed  to  submit  to  the  investigation 
of  any  tribunal. 

To  overlay  malpractice  by  imputing  to  its  victims  perverse  or 
criminal  conduct  is  the  stale  but  never-failing  device  of  tyranny. 

A  claim  has  also  been  put  forward  by  the  British  Foreign  Office 


HISTORICAL  HOTCHPOT  293 

to  prevent  you,  Mr.  President,  as  the  head  of  a  great  allied  Republic, 
from  acquiring  first-hand  information  of  the  reasons  why  Ireland 
has  rejected,  and  will  resist,  conscription  except  in  so  far  as  the 
Military  Governor  of  Ireland,  Field-Marshal  Lord  French,  may  be 
pleased  to  allow  you  to  peruse  his  version  of  our  opinions. 

America's  present  conflict  with  Germany  obstructs  no  argument 
that  we  advance.  "  Liberty  and  ordered  peace  "  we,  too,  strive 
for  ;  and  confidently  do  we  look  to  you,  sir,  and  to  America — 
whose  freedom  Irishmen  risked  something  to  establish — to  lend  ear 
and  weight  to  the  prayer  that  another  unprovoked  wrong  against 
the  defenceless  may  not  stain  this  sorry  century. 

We  know  that  America  entered  the  war  because  her  rights  as  a 
neutral,  in  respect  of  ocean  navigation,  were  interfered  with,  and 
only  then.  Yet  America  in  her  strength  had  a  guarantee  that  in 
victory  she  would  not  be  cheated  of  that  for  which  she  joined  in  the 
struggle.  Ireland,  having  no  such  strength,  has  no  such  guarantee  ; 
and  experience  has  taught  us  that  justice  (much  less  gratitude)  is 
not  to  be  wrung  from  a  hostile  Government.  What  Ireland  is  to 
give,  a  free  Ireland  must  determine. 

We  are  sadly  aware,  from  recent  proclamations  and  deportations, 
of  the  efforts  of  British  authorities  to  inflame  prejudice  against  our 
country.  We  therefore  crave  allowance  briefly  to  notice  the  insinua- 
tion that  the  Irish  coasts,  with  native  connivance,  could  be  made  a 
base  for  the  destruction  of  American  shipping. 

An  official  statement  asserts  that : 

"  An  important  feature  in  every  plan  was  the  establishment  of 
submarine  bases  in  Ireland  to  menace  the  shipping  of  all  nations." 

On  this  it  is  enough  to  say  that  every  creek,  inlet,  or  estuary 
that  indents  our  shores,  and  every  harbour,  mole,  or  jetty  is  watch- 
fully patrolled  by  British  authority.  Moreover,  Irish  vessels,  with 
their  cargoes,  crews,  and  passengers,  have  suffered  in  this  war 
proportionately  to  those  of  Britain. 

Another  State  Paper  palliates  the  deportations  by  blazoning  the 
descent  of  a  solitary  invader  upon  a  remote  island  on  the  12th  of 
April,  heralded  by  mysterious  warnings  from  the  Admiralty  to  the 
Irish  Command.  No  discussion  is  permitted  of  the  tryst  of  this 
British  soldier  with  the  local  coast-guards,  of  his  speedy  bent 
towards  a  police  barrack,  and  his  subsequent  confidences  with  the 
London  authorities. 

Only  one  instance  exists  in  history  of  a  project  to  profane  our 
coasts  by  making  them  a  base  to  launch  attacks  on  international 
shipping.  That  plot  was  framed,  not  by  native  wickedness,  but  by 
an  English  Viceroy,  and  the  proofs  are  piled  up  under  his  hand  in 
British  State  Papers. 

For  huge  bribes  were  proffered  by  Lord  Falkland,  Lord -Lieutenant 
of  Ireland,  to  both  the  Royal  Secretary  and  the  Prince  of  Wales, 


294  NATIONALIST  LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT  WILSON 

to  obtain  consent  for  the  use  of  Irish  harbours  to  convenience 
Turkish  and  Algerine  pirates  in  raiding  sea-going  commerce.  The 
plot  is  old,  but  the  plea  of  "  increasing  his  Majesty's  revenues  "  by 
which  it  was  commended  is  everlasting.  Nor  will  age  lessen  its 
significance  for  the  citizens  of  that  Republic  which,  amidst  the 
tremors  and  greed  of  European  diplomacy,  extirpated  the  traffic 
of  Algerine  corsairs  ninety  years  ago.  British  experts  cherish  Lord 
Falkland's  fame  as  the  sire  of  their  most  knightly  cavalier,  and  in 
their  eyes  its  lustre  shines  undimmed,  though  his  Excellency,  foiled 
of  marine  booty,  enriched  himself  by  seizing  the  lands  of  his  untried 
prisoners  in  Dublin  Castle. 

Moving  are  other  retrospects  evoked  by  the  present  outbreak  of 

malignity  against  our  nation.     The  slanders  of  the  hour  recall  those 

let  loose  to  cloak  previous  deportations  in  days  of  panic  less  ignoble. 

Then  it  was  the  Primate  of  All  Ireland,  Archbishop  Oliver  Plun- 

kett,  who  was  dragged  to  London  and  arraigned  for  high  treason. 

Poignant  memories  quicken  at  every  incident  which  accompanied 

his  degradation  before  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England.     A  troop 

of  witnesses  was  suborned  to  swear  that  his  Grace  "  endeavoured 

and  compassed  the  King's  death,"  sought  to  "  levy  war  in  Ireland 

and  introduce  a  foreign  Power,"  and  conspired  "  to  take  a  view 

of  all  the  several  ports  and  places  in   Ireland  where  it  would  be 

convenient  to  land  from  France."     An  open  trial,  indeed,  was  not 

denied  him  ;   but  with  hasty  rites  he  was  branded  a  base  and  false 

traitor  and  doomed  to  be  hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered  at  Tyburn. 

That  desperate  felon,  after  prolonged  investigation  by  the  Holy 

See,  has  lately  been  declared  a  martyr  worthy  of  universal  veneration. 

The  fathers  of  the  American  Revolution  were  likewise  pursued 

in  turn  by  the  venom  of  Governments.     Could  they  have  been 

snatched  from  their  homes  and  haled  to  London,  what  fate  would 

have  befallen  them?   There  your  noblest  patriots  might  also  have 

perished  amidst  scenes  of  shame,  and  their  effigies  would  now  bedeck 

a  British  chamber  of  horrors.     Nor  would  death  itself  have  shielded 

their  reputations  from  hatchments  of  dishonour.     For  the  greatest 

of  Englishmen  reviled  even  the  sacred  name  of  Joan  of  Arc,  the 

stainless  Maid  of  France,  to  belittle  a  fallen  foe  and  spice  a  ribald 

stage-play. 

It  is  hardly  thirty  years  since  every  Irish  leader  was  made  the 
victim  of  a  special  Statute  of  Proscription,  and  was  cited  to  answer 
vague  charges  before  London  judges.  During  1888  and  1889  a 
malignant  and  unprecedented  inquisition  was  maintained  to  vilify 
them,  backed  by  all  the  resources  of  British  power.  No  war  then 
raged  to  breed  alarms,  yet  no  weapon  that  perjury  or  forgery  could 
fashion  was  left  unemployed  to  destroy  the  characters  of  more  than 
eighty  National  representatives — some  of  whom  survive  to  join  in 
this  Address.  That  plot  came  to  an  end  amidst  the  confusion  of 
their  persecutors,  but  fresh  accusations  may  be  daily  contrived  and 
buttressed  by  the  chicanery  of  State. 


SHAKESPEARE   AND   THE   MUSICAL  GLASSES    295 

In  every  generation  the  Irish  nation  is  challenged  to  plead  to  a 
new  indictment,  and  to  the  present  summons  answer  is  made  before 
no  narrow  forum  but  to  the  tribunal  of  the  world.  So  answering, 
we  commit  our  cause,  as  did  America,  to  "  the  virtuous  and  humane," 
and  also  more  humbly  to  the  providence  of  God. 

Well  assured  are  we  that  you,  Mr.  President,  whose  exhortations 
have  inspired  the  Small  Nations  of  the  world  with  fortitude  to 
defend  to  the  last  their  liberties  against  oppressors,  will  not  be  found 
among  those  who  would  condemn  Ireland  for  a  determination  which 
is  irrevocable  to  continue  steadfastly  in  the  course  mapped  out  for 
her,  no  matter  what  the  odds,  by  an  unexampled  unity  of  National 
judgment  and  National  right. 

Given  at  the  Mansion  House,  Dublin,  this  11th  day  of  June,  1918. 
Laurence   O'Neill,  Lord   Mayor   of  Dublin, 
Chairman  of  a  Conference  of  representative 
Irishmen  whose  names  stand  hereunder. 
Joseph  Devlin, 
John  Dillon, 
Michael  Johnson, 
William  O'Brien  (Lab.), 
T.  M.  Healy, 
William  O'Brien, 

/'Acting  in  the  place  of  E.  De 


Thomas  Kelly, 
John  MacNeill, 


Valera  and  A.  Griffith, 
deported  18th  of  May,  1918, 
to  separate  prisons  in  Eng- 
land, without  trial  or  accusa- 
tion— communication  with 
.whom  has  been  cut  off. 


20 


APPENDIX    B 
UNIONIST    LETTER    TO    PRESIDENT    WILSON 

City  Hall,  Belfast, 

August  1st,  1918. 

To  THE  President  of  the  United  States  of  America 

Sir, 

A  manifesto  signed  by  the  leader  of  the  Irish  Nationalist 
Party  and  certain  other  Irish  gentlemen  has  been  widely  circulated 
in  the  United  Kingdom,  in  the  form  of  a  letter  purporting  to  have 
been  addressed  to  your  Excellency .^ 

Its  purpose  appears  to  be  to  offer  an  explanation  of,  and  an  excuse 
for,  the  conduct  of  the  Nationalist  Party  in  obstructing  the  extension 
to  Ireland  of  compulsory  military  service,  which  the  rest  of  the 
United  Kingdom  has  felt  compelled  to  adopt  as  the  necessary  means 
of  defeating  the  German  design  to  dominate  the  world.  At  a  time 
when  all  the  free  democracies  of  the  world  have,  with  whatever 
reluctance,  accepted  the  burden  of  conscription  as  the  only  alterna- 
tive to  the  destruction  of  free  institutions  and  of  international 
justice,  it  is  easily  intelligible  that  those  who  maintain  Ireland's  right 
to  solitary  and  privileged  exemption  from  the  same  obligation  should 
betray  their  consciousness  that  an  apologia  is  required  to  enable 
them  to  escape  condemnation  at  the  bar  of  civilised,  and  especially 
of  American,  opinion.  But,  inasmuch  as  the  document  referred  to 
would  give  to  anyone  not  intimately  familiar  with  British  domestic 
affairs  the  impression  that  it  represents  the  unanimous  opinion  of 
Irishmen,  it  is  important  that  your  Excellency  and  the  American 
people  should  be  assured  that  this  is  very  far  from  being  the  case. 

There  is  in  Ireland  a  minority,  whom  we  claim  to  represent,  com- 
prising one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the  total  population  of  the  island, 
located  mainly,  but  not  exclusively,  in  the  province  of  Ulster,  who 
dissent  emphatically  from  the  views  of  Mr.  Dillon  and  his  associates. 
This  minority,  through  their  representatives  in  Parliament,  have 
maintained  throughout  the  present  war  that  the  same  obligations 
should  in  all  respects  be  borne  by  Ireland  as  by  Great  Britain,  and 
it  has  caused  them  as  Irishmen  a  keen  sense  of  shame  that  their 
country  has  not  submitted  to  this  equality  of  sacrifice. 

Your  Excellency  does  not  need  to  be  informed  that  this  question 
has  become  entangled  in  the  ancient  controversy  concerning  the 
1  See  Appendix  A. 
296 


IRISH  FREEDOM  UNDER  THE  UNION        297 

constitutional  status  of  Ireland  in  the  United  Kingdom.  This  is, 
indeed,  sufTiciently  clear  from  the  terms  of  the  Nationalist  manifesto 
addressed  to  you,  every  paragraph  of  which  is  coloured  by  allusion 
to  bygone  history  and  threadbare  political  disputes. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  traverse  the  same  ground.  There  is  in 
the  manifesto  almost  no  assertion  with  regard  to  past  events  which 
is  not  either  a  distortion  or  a  misinterpretation  of  historical  fact. 
But  we  consider  that  this  is  not  the  moment  for  discussing  the  faults 
and  follies  of  the  past,  still  less  for  rehearsing  ancient  grievances, 
whether  well  or  ill  founded,  in  language  of  extravagant  rhetoric.  At 
a  time  when  the  very  existence  of  civilisation  hangs  in  the  balance, 
all  smaller  issues,  whatever  their  merits  or  however  they  may  affect 
our  internal  political  problems,  should  in  our  judgment  have  remained 
in  abeyance,  while  the  parties  interested  in  their  solution  should 
have  joined  in  whole-hearted  co-operation  against  the  common 
enemy. 

There  is,  however,  one  matter  to  which  reference  must  be  made, 
in  order  to  make  clear  the  position  of  the  Irish  minority  whom  we 
represent.  The  Nationalist  Party  have  based  their  claim  to 
American  sympathy  on  the  historic  appeal  addressed  to  Irishmen 
by  the  British  colonists  who  fought  for  independence  in  America  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  By  no  Irishmen  was  that  appeal 
received  with  a  more  lively  sympathy  than  by  the  Protestants  of 
Ulster,  the  ancestors  of  those  for  whom  we  speak  to-day — a  fact 
that  was  not  surprising  in  view  of  the  circumstance  that  more  than 
one-sixth  part  of  the  entire  colonial  population  in  America  at  the 
time  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  consisted  of  emigrants  from 
Ulster. 

The  Ulstermen  of  to-day,  forming  as  they  do  the  chief  industrial 
community  in  Ireland,  are  as  devoted  adherents  to  the  cause  of 
democratic  freedom  as  were  their  forefathers  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  But  the  experience  of  a  century  of  social  and  economic 
progress  under  the  legislative  Union  with  Great  Britain  has  con- 
vinced them  that  under  no  other  system  of  government  could  more 
complete  liberty  be  enjoyed  by  the  Irish  people.  This,  however,  is 
not  the  occasion  for  a  reasoned  defence  of  "  Unionist  "  policy.  Our 
sole  purpose  in  referring  to  the  matter  is  to  show,  whatever  be  the 
merits  of  the  dispute,  that  a  very  substantial  volume  of  Irish  opinion 
is  warmly  attached  to  the  existing  Constitution  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  and  regards  as  wholly  unwarranted  the  theory  that  our 
political  status  affords  any  sort  of  parallel  to  that  of  the  "  small 
nations "  oppressed  by  alien  rule,  for  whose  emancipation  the 
Allied  democracies  are  fighting  in  this  war. 

The  Irish  representation  in  the  Imperial  Parliament  throws  a 
significant  sidelight  on  this  prevalent  fiction.  Whereas  England  is 
only  represented  by  one  member  for  every  75,000  of  population,  and 
Scotland  by  one  for  every  65,000,  Ireland  has  a  member  for  every 
42,000  of  her  people.     With  a  population  below  that  of  Scotland, 


298      UNIONIST  LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT  WILSON 

Ireland  has  31  more  members  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  39 
more  than  she  could  claim  on  a  basis  of  representation  strictly 
proportionate  to  population  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

Speaking  in  Dublin  on  the  1st  of  July,  1915,  the  late  Mr.  John 
Redmond  gave  the  following  description  of  the  present  condition  of 
Ireland,  which  offers  a  striking  contrast  to  the  extravagant  declama- 
tion that  represents  that  country  as  downtrodden  by  a  harsh  and 
imsympathetic  system  of  government : 

"  To-day,"  he  said,  "  the  people,  broadly  speaking,  own  the  soil. 
To-day  the  labourers  live  in  decent  habitations.  To-day  there  is 
absolute  freedom  in  local  government  and  local  taxation  of  the 
country.  To-day  we  have  the  widest  parliamentary  and  municipal 
franchise.  The  congested  districts,  the  scene  of  some  of  the  most 
awful  horrors  of  the  old  famine  days,  have  been  transformed.  The 
farms  have  been  enlarged,  decent  dwellings  have  been  provided,  and 
a  new  spirit  of  hope  and  independence  is  to-day  among  the  people. 
In  towns  legislation  has  been  passed  facilitating  the  housing  of  the 
working  classes — a  piece  of  legislation  far  in  advance  of  anything 
obtained  for  the  town  tenants  of  England.  We  have  a  system  of 
old-age  pensions  in  Ireland  whereby  every  old  man  and  woman 
over  seventy  is  safe  from  the  workhouse  and  free  to  spend  their 
last  days  in  comparative  comfort." 

Such  are  the  conditions  which,  in  the  eyes  of  Nationalist  politicians, 
constitute  a  tyranny  so  intolerable  as  to  justify  Ireland  in  repudiating 
her  fair  share  in  the  burden  of  war  against  the  enemies  of  civilisation. 

The  appeal  which  the  Nationalists  make  to  the  principle  of  "  self- 
determination  "  strikes  Ulster  Protestants  as  singularly  inappro- 
priate. Mr.  Dillon  and  his  co-signatories  have  been  careful  not  to 
inform  your  Excellency  that  it  was  their  own  opposition  that  pre- 
vented the  question  of  Irish  Government  being  settled  in  accordance 
with  that  principle  in  1916.  The  British  Government  were  prepared 
at  that  time  to  bring  the  Home  Rule  Act  of  1914  into  immediate 
operation,  if  the  Nationalists  had  consented  to  exclude  from  its 
scope  the  distinctively  Protestant  population  of  the  North,  who 
desired  to  adhere  to  the  Union.  This  compromise  was  rejected  by 
the  Nationalist  leaders,  whose  policy  was  thus  shown  to  be  one  of 
"  self-determination "  for  themselves,  combined  with  coercive 
domination  over  us. 

It  is  because  the  British  Government,  while  prepared  to  concede 
the  principle  of  self-determination  impartially  to  both  divisions  in 
Ireland,  has  declined  to  drive  us  forcibly  into  such  subjection  that 
the  Nationalist  Party  conceive  themselves  entitled  to  resist  the  law 
of  conscription.  And  the  method  by  which  this  resistance  has  been 
made  effective  is,  in  our  view,  not  less  deplorable  than  the  spirit 
that  dictated  it.  The  most  active  opponents  of  conscription  in 
Ireland  are  men  who  have  been  twice  detected  during  the  war  in 
treasonable  traffic  with  the  enemy,  and  their  most  powerful  support 
has  been  that  of  ecclesiastics,  who  have  not  scrupled   to  employ 


A   DIGNIFIED   REJOINDER  299 

weapons  of  spiritual  terrorism  which  have  elsewhere  in  the  civilised 
world  fallen  out  of  political  use  since  the  Middle  Ages, 

The  claim  of  these  men,  in  league  with  Germany  on  the  one  hand, 
and  with  the  forces  of  clericalism  on  the  other,  to  resist  a  law  passed 
by  Parliament  as  necessary  for  national  defence  is,  moreover,  incon- 
sistent with  any  political  status  short  of  independent  sovereignty — 
a  status  which  could  only  be  attained  by  Ireland  by  an  act  of 
secession  from  the  United  Kingdom,  such  as  the  American  Union 
averted  only  by  resort  to  civil  war.  In  every  Federal  or  other 
Constitution  embracing  subordinate  legislatures  the  raising  and 
control  of  military  forces  are  matters  reserved  for  the  supreme 
legislative  authority  alone,  and  they  are  so  reserved  for  the  Imperial 
Parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  the  Home  Rule  Act  of  1914, 
the  "  withholding  "  of  which  during  the  war  is  complained  of  by 
the  Nationalists  who  have  addressed  your  Excellency.  The  con- 
tention of  these  gentlemen  that  until  the  internal  government  of 
Ireland  is  changed  in  accordance  with  their  demands,  Ireland  is 
justified  in  resisting  the  law  of  Conscription,  is  one  that  finds  support 
in  no  intelligible  theory  of  political  science. 

To  us  as  Irishmen — convinced  as  we  are  of  the  righteousness  of 
the  cause  for  which  we  are  fighting,  and  resolved  that  no  sacrifice 
can  be  too  great  to  "  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy  " — it  is  a 
matter  of  poignant  regret  that  the  conduct  of  the  Nationalist 
leaders  in  refusing  to  lay  aside  matters  of  domestic  dispute,  in 
order  to  put  forth  the  whole  strength  of  the  country  against  Germany 
should  have  cast  a  stain  on  the  good  name  of  Ireland.  We  have  done 
everything  in  our  power  to  dissociate  ourselves  from  their  action, 
and  we  disclaim  responsibility  for  it  at  the  bar  of  posterity  and 
history. 

Edward  Carson. 

James  Johnston,  Lord  Mayor  of  Belfast. 

H.  M.  Pollock,  President  Belfast  Chamber  of 
Commerce. 

R.  N.  Anderson,  Mayor  of  Londonderry,  and 
President  Londonderry  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

John  M.  Andrews,  Chairman  Ulster  Unionist 
Labour  Association. 

James  A.  Turkington,  Vice-Chairman  Ulster 
Unionist  Labour  Association,  and  Secretary 
Power-loom  and  Allied  Trades  Friendly 
Society,  and  ex-Secretary  Power-loom 
Tenters'  Trade  Union  of  Ireland. 

Thompson  Donald,  Hon.  Secretary  Ulster 
Unionist  Labour  Association,  and  ex-District 
Secretary  Shipwrights'  Association. 

Henry  Fleming,  Hon.  Secretary  Ulster  Unionist 
Labour  Association,  Member  of  Boilermakers' 
Iron  and  Steel  Shipbuilders'  Society. 


INDEX 


Abercorn,  James,  2nd  Duke  of,  at 
the  Belfast  Convention,  33  ;  Presi- 
dent of  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council,  35;  illness,  47,  85,  108; 
signs  the  Covenant,  122 ;  death, 
144 

Abercorn,  James,  3rd  Duke  of,  257, 
282 

Abercorn,  Mary,  Duchess  of,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Women's  Unionist 
Coiuicil,  37 

Adair,  Gen.  Sir  Wm.,  at  Larne,  217 

Afghan  Campaign,  161 

Africa,  South,  War,  18 

Agar-Robartes,Hon.  Thomas,  amend- 
ment on  the  Home  Rule  Bill,  92, 
94-97,   132 

Agnew,  Capt.  Andrew,  viii,  193, 
202,  210,  213,  214,  220 

Albert  Hall,  meetings  at,  14,  21,  34, 
71 

Alexander,  Dr.,  Bishop  of  Derry, 
at  the  Albert  Hall,  14 

Allen,  C.  E.,  156 

Allen,  W.  J.,  35 

Althorp,  Lord,   138 

Altrincham,  election,   155 

Amending  Bill,  221,  223,  227  ;  post- 
poned, 228,  230 ;    see  Home  Rule 

America,  War  of  Independence,  273 

Amery,  L.  C.  S.,  at  Belfast,  81 ;  on 
the   Curragh   Incident,    182 

Amiens,  threatened  capture  of,  266 

Anderson,  R.  N.,  Mayor  of  London- 
derry, letter  to  President  Wilson, 
273,  296-299 

Andrews,  Jolin  M.,  letter  to  Presi- 
dent Wilson,  296-299 

Andrews,  Thomas,  33,  35,  48 

Anglo-German  relations,  167,  201 

Annual  Register,  viii,  18  note,  21,  54 
note,  76,  78  Jiote,  138,  154  note, 
155  note,  157  note,  166  note,  167 
note,  169  note,  170  note,  201  note, 
222  note,  223  note,  238,  271  note, 
272  note 

Archdale,  E.  M.,  35 ;  Chairman  of 
the  Standing  Committee,  35 ; 
Minister  for  Agriculture,  282 

Armagh,  military  depot,  175,  176 

300 


Armaghdale,  Lord,  263 ;  signs  the 
Covenant,  122  :   see  Lonsdale 

Armistice,  the,  275 

Army,  British,  sympathy  with  Ulster 
Loyalists,  187-189 

Arran,  Isle  of,  175 

Asqviith,  Rt.  Hon.  H.  H.,  on  the 
opposition  of  Ulster  to  Home 
Rule,  1,  2;  at  the  Albert  Hall, 
21;  Hull,  24;  Reading,  24; 
Bury  St.  Edmunds,  25 ;  opinion 
of  bir  E.  Carson's  speech,  133; 
at  Ladybank,  154 ;  Manches- 
ter, 166 ;  policy  on  the  Ulster 
Question,  167-170;  on  the  Cur- 
ragh Incident,  180,  182;  Secre- 
tary of  State  for  War,  184; 
promises  an  Amending  Bill,  221  ; 
on  the  landing  of  arms,  221  ;  at 
the  Buckingham  Palace  Confer- 
ence, 227  ;  on  the  postponement  of 
the  Amending  Bill,  228,  230;  de- 
fence of  Home  Rule  Bill,  235 ;  in 
Dublin,  244 ;  on  the  settlement 
of  the  Irish  question,  245  ;  on  the 
national  danger,  266 

Attentive,  H.M.S.,   178 

Austrian  rifles,  198 

Baird,  J.  D.,  at  Belfast,  81 
Balfour,  Rt.  Hon.  A.  J.,  at  Belfast, 

13,  81  ;    on  election  tactics,   2-5  ; 

on  exclusion  of  Ulster,  95  ;  resigns 

leadership  of   the  Unionist  Party, 

60 ;   how  regarded  in  Ulster,  61 ; 

message  from,  115;  the  "peccant 

paragraphs,"    181 
Balfour,  Lord,  of  Burleigh,  signs  the 

British  Covenant,  170 
Ballycastle,  193 

Ballykinler,  training  camp,  237 
Ballymacarret,  225 
Ballymene,  meeting  at,  108 
Ballymoney,  meeting  at,   158 
Ballyroney,  meeting  at,  108 
Balmerino,  s.s.,  208,  209 
Balmoral,  Belfast,  meeting  at,   79- 

86,  101 
Bangor,  214,  219 
Barrie,  H.  T.,  257 


INDEX 


301 


Bates,  Richard  Dawson,  Secretary 
of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council, 
35,  121  ;  organises  demonstra- 
tion, 111;  on  board  a  tender, 
214;  Minister  for  Home  Affairs, 
282 ;    knighthood,  284 

Bedford,  Duke  of.  Chairman  of  the 
British  League  for  the  support 
of  Ulster,  147 

Belfast,  46;  Convention  of  1892, 
32-34,  109  ;  meetings  at,  52,  78, 
157 ;  services  on  Ulster  Day, 
117:  City  Hall,  119,  283;  Cove- 
nant signed,  119-122;  drill  hall, 
opened,  148 ;  riots,  151  ;  review 
of  the  Ulster  Volunteer  Force  at, 
163 ;  Customs  Authorities,  stra- 
tagem against,  217  ;  reception  of 
the  King  and  Queen,  283 

Belfast  Lough,  46,  175,  211,  212 

Belfast  Newsletter,  102  note.  111 

Benn,  Sir  John,  53 

Beresford,  Lord  Charles,  at  Belfast, 
81,  109  ;  at  the  Ulster  Club,  125  ; 
Liverpool,  127 ;  member  of  a 
Committee  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  145 

Berwick,  149,   154 

Biirell,  Rt.  Hon.  Augustine,  Chief 
Secretary  for  Ireland,  on  the 
character  of  Sinn  Feinism,  4 ;  at 
Ilfracombe,  54 ;  on  the  Home 
Rule  Bill,  96 ;  the  right  to  fight, 
138  ;  member  of  a  sub-committee 
on  Ulster,  1 75 ;  conduct  in  the 
Irish  rebellion,  243 ;  character 
of  his  adiTiinistration,  245 

Blenheim,  meeting  at,  97 

Boyne,  the,  2  ;  battle  of,  115  ;  cele- 
bration, 224 

Bradford,  172,  174,  175 

Bristol,  150,  166 ;    Channel,  208 

Britannic,  H.M.S.,  224 

British  Covenant,  signing  the,  170 

British  League  for  the  support  of 
Ulster  and  the  Union,  formation, 
147 

Browne,  Robert,  Managing  Director 
of  the  Antrim  Iron  Ore  Company, 
193 

Brunner,  Sir  John,  President  of  the 
National  Liberal  Federation,   167 

Buckingham  Palace  Conference,  227 

Budden,  Captain,  196 

Budget,  19  ;    "  The  People's,"  20 

"Budget  League,"  formed,  20 

Bull,  Sir  William.  195 

Bury  St.  Edmunds,  25 

Butcher,  Sir  J.  G.,  at  Belfast,  81 

Cambridge,  H.R.H.  Duke  of,  187 
Cambridgeshire,  election,  155 


Campbell,  James,   Lord  Chancellor 
of  Ireland,  57,  95,  109 

Canterbury,     Dean    of,    signs    the 
British  Covenant,  170 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  137 

Carrickfergus,   military   depot,    175, 
176 

Carson,  Lady,  at  Belfast,  236,  284 

Carson,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Edward,  viii ; 
accepts  leadership,  39-41  ;  poli- 
tical views,  41  ;  at  the  Ulster 
Hall,  42,  108;  at  the  Ulster 
Unionist  Council  meetings,  42, 246- 
248 ;  relations  with  Lord  Lon- 
donderry, 44,  53  ;  on  the  Parlia- 
ment Bill,  44 ;  at  the  Craigavon 
meeting,  48-51,  210;  character  of 
his  speaking,  48 ;  at  the  Con- 
ference at  Belfast,  52  ;  at  Dublin, 
64  ;  Portrush,  55  ;  refuses  leader- 
ship of  Unionist  Party,  60 ; 
meetings  in  Lancashire,  65  ;  popu- 
larity, 66,  110,  148;  at  Belfast, 
73,  157,  224-226,  257,  278; 
criticism  of  W.  Churchill's  speech, 
74;  on  fiscal  autonomy  for  Ire- 
land, 77  ;  at  the  Balmoral  meet 
ing,  81,  84;  ovation,  85;  attacks 
on,  87 ;  on  the  Home  Rule  Bill, 
90,  96  ;  at  the  Londonderry  House 
Conference,  94  ;  on  the  resistance 
of  Ulster,  98,  100 ;  character  of 
his  leadership,  102 ;  reads  the 
Ulster  Covenant,  105 ;  tour  of 
the  Province,  110,  114;  opinion 
of  the  Covenant,  111  ;  presenta- 
tion to,  115  ;  speech  on  the  Cove- 
nant, 116;  at  the  service  in  the 
Ulster  Hall,  118;  at  the  City 
Hall,  120-124;  signs  the  Cove- 
nant, 121  ;  at  Liverpool,  127  ;  on 
the  exclusion  of  Ulster,  1 33,  1 68  ; 
death  of  his  wife,  148  ;  at  opening 
of  drill  hall,  148 ;  in  Scotland 
and  England,  149 ;  at  Durham. 
153 ;  Chairman  of  the  Central 
Authority,  156 ;  Indemnity 
Guarantee  Fund,  156  ;  inspection 
of  the  Ulster  Volunteer  Force, 
162,  164,  167,  223,  226;  on  the 
time  limit  for  exclusion,  171  ; 
leaves  the  House  of  Commons, 
173 ;  on  the  plot  against  Ulster, 
176;  signs  statement  on  the 
Curragh  Incident,  186 ;  interview 
with  Major  F.  H.  Crawford,  199, 
210;  congratulations  from  Lord 
Roberts,  220;  at  Ipswich,  222; 
at  the  Buckingham  Palace  Con- 
ference, 227 ;  on  the  patriotism 
of  Ulster,  231-233;  tribute  to 
B.   Law,   236;    second  marriage. 


802 


INDEX 


236 ;  tribute  to  Lord  London- 
derry, 241  ;  appointed  Attorney- 
General,  242  ;  resignation,  242  ; 
on  the  Irish  rebellion,  246  ;  ap- 
pointed First  Lord  of  the  Admir- 
alty, 252 ;  resignation,  263 ;  re- 
elected leader  of  the  Ulster  Party, 
263  ;  member  of  the  Irish  Unionist 
Alliance,  265 ;  on  the  Military 
Service  Bill,  270  ;  letter  to  Presi- 
dent Wilson,  273,  296-299  ;  M.P. 
for  Duncaim,  275  ;  declines  office, 
275 ;  on  the  Government  of  Ire- 
land Act,  279 ;  conclusion  of  his 
leadership,  280 ;  Lord  of  Appeal 
in  Ordinary,  284 ;  unable  to  be 
present  at  the  opening  of  the 
Ulster  Parliament,  284 

Casement,  Sir  Roger,  7,  158 ;  in 
league  with  Germany,  243 

Cassel,  Felix,  at  Belfast,  81 

Castlereagh,  Viscount,  109,  230 ;  at 
Belfast,  81 ;  signs  the  Covenant, 
121 

Cavan,  248,  279 

Cave,  Rt.  Hon.  George,  188 ;  at 
Belfast,  81 ;  letter  to  The  Times, 
152 

Cecil,  Lord  Hugh,  at  Belfast,  81, 
109;  at  the  Balmoral  meeting, 
86;  on  the  resistance  of  Ulster, 
96 

Chamberlain,  Rt.  Hon.  Austen, 
candidate  for  the  leadership  of 
the  Unionist  Party,  60 ;  message 
from,  115;  at  Skipton,  167;  on 
the  ix)licy  of  the  Government, 
168 

Chamberlain,  Rt.  Hon.  Joseph,  at 
Belfast,  13  ;  views  on  Home  Rule, 
16,  128  ;  tariff  policy,  18  ;  his  ad- 
vice to  Sir  E.  Carson,   167 

Chambers,  James,  signs  the  Cove- 
nant, 121 

Chichester,  Capt.  the  Hon.  A.  C, 
Conunander  in  the  Ulster  Volun- 
teer Force,  163 

Childers,  Mr.  Erskine,  on  fiscal  auto- 
nomy for  Ireland,  76 

China  Expeditionary  Force,   161 

Chubb,  Sir  George  Hayter,  signs  the 
British  Covenant,   170 

Cliurchill,  Mrs.,  at  Belfast,  73 

Churchill,  Lord  Randolph,  at  Bel- 
fast, 13,  81 ;  at  the  Ulster  Hall 
meeting,  30,  40,  62 ;  saying  of, 
31,  42 ;  reception  at  Lame,  74 ; 
views  on  Home  Rule,  128 ;  Life 
of,  138 

Churchill,  Rt.  Hon.  Winston  S.,  at 
Manchester,  19 ;  Life  of  Lord 
Bandolph  Churchill,  30,   138 ;    at 


Dundee,  54,  154 ;  \'iews  on  Home 
Rule  62 ;  projected  visit  to  Bel- 
fast, 62-69  ;  letter  to  Lord  Lon- 
donderry, 69  ;  change  of  plan,  69  ; 
reception  at  Belfast,  73 ;  departui-e 
from,  74 ;  on  Home  Rule,  95 ; 
letters  on  the  Ulster  menace,  99  ; 
on  the  resistance  of  Ulster,  138, 
141 ;  the  policy  of  exclusion,  152  ; 
at  Bradford,  172,  174,  175 

City  Hall,  Belfast,  119,  283 

Clark,  Sir  George,  156 

Clogher,  Bishop  of,  signs  the  Cove- 
nant,  122 

ClydevalUy,  s.s.,  211-213,  220;  re- 
named, 214 

Coleraine,  meeting  at,  108,  114 

Comber,  82 

Copeland  Island,  212,  214,  220 

Correspondence  relating  to  Recent 
Events  in  the  Irish  Command,  185 

Covenant,    British,  signing  the,  170 

Covenant,  Ulster,  draft,  104  ;  terms, 
105-107 ;  series  of  demonstra- 
tions, 108-110;  meeting  in  the 
Ulster  Hall,  114;  signing  the, 
120-124;  anniversary,  158,  165, 
236 

Cowser,  Richard,  210,  214 

Craig,  Charles,  96,  147 ;  serves  in 
the  war,  234 ;  taken  prisoner, 
234 

Craig,  James,  member  of  the  Ulster 
Unionist  Council,  35 ;  meeting 
at  Craigavon,  46  ;  gift  for  organi- 
sation, 46 ;  member  of  the 
Commission  of  Five,  63  ;  on  the 
resistance  of  Ulster,  96 ;  draft 
of  the  Covenant,  103  ;  organises 
the  demonstration.  111  ;  pre- 
sentation of  a  silver  key  and  pen 
to  Sir  E.  Carson,  115  ;  Indemnity 
Guarantee  Fund,  156 ;  at  the 
reviews  of  the  U.V.F.,  162,  164, 
223;  at  Bangor,  217;  at  the 
Buckingham  Palace  Conference, 
228  ;  appointed  Q.M.G.  of  the 
Ulster  Division,  234  ;  Treasurer 
of  the  Household,  253 ;  resig- 
nation, 263  ;  baronetcy,  275 ; 
Secretary  to  the  Ministrj'-  of 
Pensions,  275  ;  Secretary  to  the 
Admiralty,  281  ;  resignation, 
281  ;  Prime  Minister  of  the 
Northern  Parliament,  281 

Craig,  John,   103 

Craig,  Mrs.,  presents  colours  to  the 
U.V.F.,  223 

Craigavon,  meeting  at,  45-51,  80, 
105,  149,  210 

Crawford,  Colonel  F.  H.,  viii ;  signs 
the  Covenant,    123,    191 ;    Com- 


INDEX 


308 


mander  in  the  U.V.F.,  163; 
characteristics,  190  ;  career, 
191  ;  Secretary  of  the  Roform 
Club,  191  ;  advertises  for  rifles, 
191  ;  Director  of  Ordnance,  192  ; 
method  of  procuring  arms,  192- 
200  ;  schooner,  192  ;  agreement 
with  B.  S.,  197-200 ;  interview 
with  Sir  E.  Carson,  199,  210; 
voyage  in  s.s.  Fanny,  202-210; 
conveys  arms  from  Hamburg, 
203-213;  attack  of  malaria, 
207  ;  declines  to  obey  unsigned 
orders,  209;  at  Belfast,  210; 
purchases  s.s.  Clydevalley,  211, 
212 ;  lands  the  arms,  214 ;  at 
Rosslare,  220 ;  awarded  the 
O.B.E.,   284 

Crewe,  election,  98,  99 

Crewe,  Marq.  of,  18,  23,  175;  on 
■  the  Amending  Bill,  223 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  136 

Crozier,  Dr.,  Archbp.  of  Armagh, 
member  of  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, 145 

Crumlin,  meeting  at,  108 

Curragh  Incident,   174-189,  221 

Curzon,  Marq.,  on  the  Parliament 
Bill,  44;  the  Home  Rule  Bill, 
134;    the  loyalty  of  Ulster,   141 

Daily  Express,  The,  225 

Daily  Mail,  The,  225 

Daily  News,  The,  114,  166 

Daily  Telegraph,   The,   111,   225 

D'Arcy,  Dr.,  Primate  of  All  Ireland, 
118;    signs  the  Covenant,  121 

Darlington,   149 

Davis,  Jefferson,  137 

Democracy,  axiom  of,  15 

Derbyshire,  election,  222 

Derry,  relief  of,  13,  85 ;  meeting 
at,  108  ;  election,  144 ;  riots, 
151 

Desborough,  Lord,  signs  the  Bri- 
tish Covenant,   170 

Devlin,  Joseph,  6,  127,  172,  174, 
275  ;  with  Mr.  W.  Churchill  in 
Belfast,  63,  68 ;  the  Irish  Con- 
vention, 261  ;  on  the  Military 
Service  Bill,  269  ;  letter  to  Pre- 
sident Wilson,  273,  287-295 ; 
demands  self-determination,  277 

Devonshire,  8th  Duke  of,  views  on 
Home  Rule,  128,  134;  on  the 
resistance  of  Ulster,  136,  138 ; 
Life  of,  136  note,  139  note 

Dicey,  Prof.,  signs  the  British 
Covenant,  170 

Dickson,  Scott,  at  Belfast,  81  ;  at 
the  Balmoral  meeting,  86 

"  Die  Hards  "  party,  44 


Dillon,  John,  6,  174;  at  the 
Buckingham  Palace  Conference, 
227 ;  on  the  Irish  Rebellion, 
244  ;  letter  to  Pres.  Wilson,  273, 
287-295 

Donaghadee,  214,  219 

Donald,  Thompson,  letter  to  Pres. 
Wilson,   296-299 

Donegal,  248,  279 

Doreen,  s.s.,  207,  210;  at  Lundy, 
208 

Dorset  Regiment,  transferred  to 
Holywood,  177,  178 

Dromore,  meeting  at,   108 

Dublin,  insurrection,  4,  243 ; 
Unionist  demonstration  at,  54 ; 
Nationalist  Convention,  meeting, 
92  ;  Congress  in,  276 

Dufferin  and  Ava,  Dow.  Marchion- 
ess of,   113 

Duke,  Rt.  Hon.  H.  E.,  Chief  Secre- 
tary for  Ireland,   253 

Duncaim,  election,  275 

Dundalk,  178 

Dundee,  54,    154 

Dunleath,  Lord,   156 

Durham,  Sir  E.  Carson  at,  153 

East  Fife,  25 

Edinburgh,  24,  101  ;  Ulstermen 
sign  the  Covenant,  123  ;  meet- 
ing at,  149  ;  Philosophical  In- 
stitution, lecture  at  the,  274 

Edward  VII,  King,  death,  23 

Election,  General,  of  1886,  16  ;  of 
1895,  34;  of  Jan.  1910,  21, 
22,  42;  of  Dec.  1910,  26;  of 
1918,  4 

Elections,  result  of,  99,   155,   222 

Emmet,  Robert,  7,  46,  142 

Enniskillen,  meeting  at,  108,  114; 
military  depot,  175,  176 

Erne,  Earl  of,  member  of  the  Ulster 
Unionist  Council,  35 ;  at  the 
Craigavon  meeting,  47  ;  signs 
the  Covenant,  122 

Ewart,  G.  H.,  President  of  the 
Belfast  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
157 

Ewart,  Sir  William,  member  of  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council,  35 ; 
signs  the  Covenant,   121 

Fanny,  s.s.,  voyage,  viii,  202-213  ; 
alterations  in  her  appearance, 
206  ;  rechristened,  207  ;  trans- 
ference of  the  cargo,  213 

Farnham,  Lord,  at  the  Ulster 
Unionist  Council  meeting,  248, 
279 ;  Irish  Unionist  Alliance, 
265 

Ferguson,  John,  &  Co.,  196 


804 


INDEX 


Fiennes,  Mr.,  at  Belfast,  73 

Finance  Bill,  rejected,  19 

Finlay,  Sir  Robert,  at  Belfast,  81  ; 
at  the  Balmoral  meeting,  86 

Fishguard,    213 

Flavin,  Mr.,  on  the  Military  Ser- 
vice Bill,   269 

Fleming,  Henry,  letter  to  Pres. 
Wilson,  296-299 

Flood,  Heniy,  patriotism,  7 

Foyle,  the,  87,  214 

Freemason' s  Journal,   The,  72,   287 

French,  F.  M.,  Viscount,  member 
of  the  Army  Council,  176  ;  re- 
signation, 184  ;  Lord  Lieutenant 
of  Ireland,  272  ;  attempt  on  his 
life,  277 

Frewen,  Miss,  marriage,  236;  see 
Carson 

Friend,  General,  177 

Gambetta,  Leon,  9 

George  V,  King,  Conference  at 
Buckingham  Palace,  228  ;  opens 
the  Ulster  Parliament,  282,  286  ; 
reception  in  Belfast,  283 

George,  Rt.  Hon.  D.  Lloyd,  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer,  Budget, 
19  ;  at  Edinburgh,  24  ;  on  the 
exclusion  of  Ulster,  152  ;  Anglo- 
German  relations,  167,  201  ; 
opinion  of  Sir  E.  Carson's  speech, 
168  ;  plot  against  Ulster,  174  ; 
at  Ipswich,  222  ;  the  Bucking- 
ham Palace  Conference,  227  ; 
Secretary  of  State  for  War,  245  ; 
negotiations  for  the  settlement 
of  the  Irish  question,  245,  247, 
250 ;  Prime  Minister,  252 ;  on 
Home  Rule,  254 ;  alternative 
proposals,  255  ;  statement  on 
the  war,  266,  268  ;  Military  Ser- 
vice Bill,  268  ;  letter  to  B.  Law, 
276  note  ■  basic  facts  on  the 
Irish  Question,  277  ;  Govern- 
ment of  Ireland  Act,  278 

German  rifles,  198 

Gibson,  T.  H.,  Sec.  of  Ulster 
Unionist  Covmcil,  35 ;  resigna- 
tion, 35 

Gilmour,  Captain,  at  Belfast,  81 

Gladstone,  Rt.  Hon.  W.  E.,  138  ; 
on  the  character  of  the  National- 
ists, 5 ;  conversion  to  Home 
Rule,  7,  12,  30 ;  Home  Rule 
Bills,  13,  16,  17  ;    personality,  17 

Glasgow,  22,  78  ;    meeting  at,  149 

Goschen,  Viscount,  views  on  Home 
Rule,   16,   128 

Goudy,  Prof.,  signs  the  British 
Covenant,   170 

Gough,    General    Sir    Hugh,    com- 


manding the  3rd  Cavalry  Bri- 
gade, 180;  at  the  War  Ofifice, 
181  ;  return  to  the  Curragh,  181 ; 
driven  back  by  the  Germans, 
270 

Government  of  Ireland  Act,  51, 
278 

Graham,  John  Washington,   194 

Grattan,  Henry,  patriotism,  7 

Greenwood,  Sir  Hamar,  at  Belfast, 
73  ;  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland, 
285 

Grey,  Earl,  on  the  Home  Rule  Bill, 
134 

Grey,  Sir  Edward,  on  the  Home 
Rule  Bill,  95  ;    at  Berwick,  154 

Grififith,  Arthur,  arrested,  271  ; 
deported,  295 

Griffith-Boscawen,  Sir  Arthur,  at 
Belfast,  81 

Grimsby,  election,  222 

Guest,  Capt.  Frederick,  at  Belfast, 
72 

Guinness,  Walter,  supports  exclu- 
sion of   Ulster,  95 

Gun-barrel  Proof  Act,   196 

Haldane,  Viscount,    130,   185 
Halifax,  Lord,   136,   141 
Hall,  Frank,  121 
Halsbury,  Earl  of,  151 
Hamburg,  Col.  Crawford  at,  198 
Hamilton,  Lord  Claud,  at  Belfast, 

81  ;       Provisional     Government, 

145 
Hamilton,     George     C,     M.P.     for 

Altrincham,   155 
Hamilton,   Gustavus,   Governor   of 

Enniskillen,  48 
Hamilton,  Marq.  of,  interest  in  the 

Ulster  Movement,  109  ;  signs  the 

Covenant,    122 
Hammersmith       Armoury,        195 ; 

seizure  of  arms  at,   196 
Hanna,  J.,  257 
Harding,   Canon,   158 
Harland  and  Wolfi,  Messrs.,  191 
Harrison,   Frederic,   on   the   Ulster 

Question,   169 
Hartington,    Marq.     of,     views    on 

Home  Rule,   16 
Health  Insurance  Act,  222 
Healy,    T.    M.,     18,    22  ;     on    the 

Military  Service  Bill,  270  ;   letter 

to  Pres.  Wilson,  273.  287-295 
Henry,     Denis,     member     of     the 

Ulster  Unionist  Council,  35 
Hickman,   Colonel   Thomas,   mem- 
ber of   Provisional   Government, 

145  ;     career,    160 ;     letter   from 

Lord  Roberts,   161,   195 
Hills,  J.  W.,  at  Belfast,  81 


INDEX 


805 


Holland,  Bernard,  Life  oj  the 
Eighth  Duke  of  Devonshire,  136 
note,   139  note 

Holywood,  46,   177,   178 

Home  Rule,  23-29  ;  a  separatist 
movement,  7  ;  memorial  against, 
155 

Home  Rule  Bill,  13,  16,  17,  90- 
97,  131,  133,  149;  political 
meetings,  97  ;  under  the  "  guil- 
lotine," 131  ;  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  134  ;  rejected,  135  ;  time 
limit  for  exclusion,  171  ;  passed, 
222,  224 ;  receives  the  Royal 
Assent,  235 

Home  Rule  Bill,  Amending  Bill, 
221,  223,  227,  228,  230 

Hull,  Mr.  Asquith  at,  24 

Ilfracombe,  54 

Indemnity  Guarantee  Fund,  sub- 
scriptions,  156,   163 

Ipswich,  election,  222 

Ireland,  two  nations,  2,  84 ;  re- 
bellions, 6 ;  animosity  of  rival 
creeds,  9  ;  condition,  17,  19, 
298  ;  insurrection,  27  ;  fiscal 
autonomy,  76-78  ;  financial 
clauses  of  the  Home  Rule  Bill, 
91  ;  prohibition  of  the  importa- 
tion of  arms,  166  ;  Easter  Re- 
bellion, 243  ;  exemption  from 
conscription,  268  ;  German  plot 
in,  271  ;  agitation  against  con- 
scription, 272  ;    anarchy,  279 

Ireland,  Council  of,  278 

Ireland,  Government  of.  Act,  2, 
278-280 

Ireland,  Northern,  Parliament, 280- 
282 

Irish  Convention,  255-262  ;  mem- 
bers, 255,  257  ;    Report,  264,  266 

Irish  News,  The,  114 

Irish  Republican  Army,  system  of 
terrorism,  277 

Irish  Republican  Brotherhood,  243 

Irish  Unionist  Alliance,  30,  265 ; 
co-operation  with  the  Ulster 
Unionist  Council,   37 

Islandmagee,  218 

Italian  Vetteli  rifles,  197,  198,  201 

James  II,  King,  139,  141 
Johnston,   James,   Lord   Mayor   of 

Belfast,   letter   to   Pres.   Wilson, 

273,   296-299 

Kelly,  Sam,  209 

Kelly,  Thomas,  letter  to  Pres. 
Wilson,  287-295 


Kennedy,  Sir  Robert,  member  of 
Provisional  Government,   145 

Kettle,  Prof.  T.  M.,  on  fiscal  auto- 
nomy for  Ireland,  76 

Kiel,  204 

Kingstown,  cruisers  at,  178 

Kipling,  Rudyard,  "  Ulster  1912," 
79,  129  ;  signs  the  British  Cove- 
nant, 170 

Kitchener,  F.-M.  Earl,  230,  238 

Kossuth,  136 

Labour  Party,  22,  26 

Ladybank,  Mr.  Asquith  at,  154 

Lamlash,  battleships  at,  175 

Lane-Fox,  George,  at  Belfast,  81 

Langeland,   204 

Lansdowne,  Marq.  of,  scheme  of 
reform  for  the  House  of  Lords, 
24  ;  on  the  Parliament  Bill,  44  ; 
message  from,  115;  on  the 
Ulster  Question,  169 ;  the  Amend 
ing  Bill,  223  ;  at  the  Bucking- 
ham Palace  Conference,  227 

Larne,  74,  81,  212,  214 

Law,  Rt.  Hon.  A.  Bonar,  leader 
of  Unionist  Party,  28,  60 ;  on 
Home  Rule,  28,  131  ;  at  the 
Albert  Hall,  71  ;  on  fiscal 
autonomy  for  Ireland,  78 ;  at 
the  Balmoral  meeting,  80-86 ; 
reception  at  Larne,  81  ;  his 
speech,  84 ;  indictment  against 
the  Government,  90,  172,  174, 
235  ;  on  the  resistance  of  Ulster, 
91,  95,  98;  messages  from,  115, 
149  ;  at  Wallsend,  154  ;  Bristol, 
166  ;  on  the  exclusion  of  Ulster, 
169,  171  ;  demands  inquiry  into 
the  Curragh  Incident,  185  ;  on 
the  Amending  Bill,  222  ;  at  the 
Buckingham  Palace  Conference, 
227  ;  at  Belfast,  236 ;  tribute 
to,  236  ;  at  the  Ulster  Hall,  237  ; 
warning  to  the  Nationalists,  255  ; 
on  the  Military  Service  Bill,  269, 
271 

Lecky,  W.  E.  Ji.,  History  of  England 
in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  214:note 

Leeds,  meeting  at,  149 

Leo  XIII,  Pope,  8 

Leslie,  Shane,  Henry  Edward  Man- 
ning, 8  7iote 

Liberal  Party,  policy,  16  ;  victory 
in  1906,  18 ;  majority,  19,  22  ; 
tactics,  20 ;  number  of  votes, 
22,  26  ;    defeated  in  1895,  34 

Liddell,  R.  M.,  156 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  40  ;  saying  of, 
15 

Linlithgow,  election,   155 

Lisburn,  meeting  at,  108,  114 


806 


INDEX 


Liverpool,   127 

Liverpool  Daily  Courier,  The,  ex- 
tract from,  165 

Liverpool  Daily  Post  and  Mercury, 
159  note 

Llandudno,  212 

Lloyd,  Mr.  George,  at  Belfast,  81 

Logue,  Cardinal,  10 

London  School  of  Economics,  con- 
ference at,  76 

Londonderry  House,  conference 
at,  92,  94,  147 

Londonderry,  Marchioness  of,  mem- 
ber of  the  Ulster  Women's 
Unionist  Council,  37 ;  on  the 
Covenant,  112;  presents  colours 
to  the  U.V.F.,  223  ;  work  in  the 
war,  240 

Londonderry,  6th  Marq.  of,  viii ; 
on  Home  Rule,  28 ;  Ulster 
Unionist  Council,  35 ;  popu- 
larity, 43  ;  character,  44  ;  rela- 
tions with  Sir  E.  Carson,  44,  53  ; 
on  the  Parliament  Bill,  44 ; 
Conference  at  Belfast,  52 ;  at 
the  Ulster  Hall  meeting,  62,  106, 
108  ;  the  Ulster  Unionist  Coun- 
cil meetings,  65,  67 ;  reply  to 
W.  Churchill,  69  ;  at  Belfast, 
73 ;  at  the  Balmoral  meeting, 
84 ;  signs  the  Covenant,  121  ; 
at  the  Ulster  Club,  125  ;  Liver- 
pool, 127  ;  on  the  House  of 
Lords,  134 ;  President  of  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council,  145 ; 
Indemnity  Guarantee  Fund,  156 ; 
at  the  reviews  of  the  U.V.F., 
164,  223  ;  on  the  Cvirragh  Inci- 
dent, 186 ;  on  the  Amending 
Bill,  223  ;  at  Enniskillen,  227  ; 
despondency,  240  ;  death,  241  ; 
tribute  to,  241 

Londonderry,  7th  Marq.  of,  viii ; 
member  of  the  Irish  Convention, 
257,  263  ;  Under-Secretary  of 
State  in  the  Air  Ministry,  275  ; 
resignation,  281  ;  Minister  of 
Education,   281 

Long,  Rt.  Hon.  Walter,  147  ;  foun- 
der of  the  Union  Defence  League, 
37;  leader  of  the  Irish  Unionists, 
38  ;  at  the  Ulster  Hall,  42  ;  can- 
didate for  the  leadership  of  the 
Unionist  Party,  60  ;  at  Belfast, 
81,  224;  at  the  Balmoral  meet- 
ing, 84,  86 ;  the  Londonderry 
House  conference,  92  ;  message 
from,  115  ;  on  the  policy  of  the 
Government,  170 ;  signs  the 
British  Covenant,  170;  chairman 
of  a  Cabinet  Committee  on  the 
Irish  Question,  277 


Lonsdale,  Sir  John  B.,  member  of 
the  Ulster  Unionist  Council,  35  ; 
Hon.  Sec.  of  the  Irish  Unionist 
Party,  39  ;  signs  Covenant,  1 22  ; 
Indemnity  Guarantee  Fund,  156  ; 
leader  of  the  Ulster  Party,  254  ; 
at  Belfast,  257  ;  raised  to  the 
peerage,    263 ;     see     Armaghdale 

Lords,  House  of,  rejection  of  the 
Home  Rule  Bill,  17,  135  ;  of  the 
Finance  Bill,  19,  21  ;  forced 
to  accept  the  Parliament  Bill, 
27  ;  position  under  the  Parlia- 
ment Act,  134  ;  debates  on  the 
Home  Rule  Bill,  134 

Loreburn,  Lord,  letters  to  The 
Times,   152,   165 

Lough  Laxford,  203,  206,  207 

Lough,  Thomas,  on  fiscal  autonomy 
for  Ireland,  76 

Lovat,  Lord,  signs  the  British 
Covenant,  170 

Lowther,  Rt.  Hon.  James,  at  the 
Buckingham  Palace  Conference, 
227 

Loyal  Orange  Institution,  31 

Lundy,  208 

Lyons,  W.  H.  H.,  35 

Macdonnell,  Lord,  on  fiscal  auto- 
nomy for  Ireland,  76 

Mackinder,  H.  J.,  at  Belfast,  81 

Macnaghten,  Sir  Charles,  member 
Provisional  Government,   145 

Macnaghten,  Lord,  Lord  of  Appeal, 
140,  145 ;  signs  the  Covenant, 
122 

MacNeill,  John,  letter  to  Pros. 
Wilson,   287-295 

Mahan,  Admiral,  130 

Maine,  Sir  H.,  Popular  Government, 
extract  from,  14 

Malcolm,  Sir  Ian,  at  Belfast,  81 

Manchester,  77,   166  ;    election,  99 

Manchester  Guardian,  The,   166 

Manning,  Cardinal,  on  Home  Rule, 
8 

Mary,  H.M.,  Queen,  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  Ulster  Parliament, 
282  ;    reception  in  Belfast,  283 

Massereene,  Lady,  presents  colours 
to  the  Ulster  Volxinteer  Force, 
223 

Massingham,  Mr.,   166 

Masterman,  Rt.  Hon.  C.  F.  G.,  170, 
222 

Mazzini,  136 

McCalmont,  Col.  James,  Ulster 
Unionist  Council,  35 ;  Com- 
mander of  a  U.V.F  regiment, 
163 

McOammon,  Mr.,  121 


INDEX 


807 


McDowell,  Sir  Alexander,  criticism 
of  the  Ulster  Covenant,  104 

McMordie,  Mr.,  Lord  Mayor  of 
Belfast,  at  the  service  in  the 
Ulster  Hall,  118;  receives  Sir 
E.  Carson,  120;  at  the  Ulster 
aub,  125 

Meath  election  petition  in  1892, 
10 

Melbourne,  Lord,   136 

Mersey,  the,  127 

Midleton,  Earl  of,  at  the  Irish 
Convention,  260 ;  supports  Home 
Rule,  262 ;  secedes  from  the 
Irish  Unionist  Alliance,  265 

IVIidlothian,  election,  99 

Military  Service  Act,  ii.,  268-272 

Milner,  Viscount,  signs  the  British 
Covenant,  170;  on  the  Amend- 
ing Bill,  223 

Moles,  Thomas,  viii ;  Chairman  of 
Committee  in  the  Northern  Par- 
liament, 282 

Molyneux,  patriotism,  7 

Monaghan,   248,    279 

Montgomery,  B.  W.  D.,  Secretary 
of  the  Ulster  Qub,   103 

Montgomery,  Dr.,   118 

Montgomery,  Major-Gen.,  member 
of  Provisional  Government,   145 

Moore,  William,  Ulster  Unionist 
Council,  35  ;  on  the  amendment 
to  the  Home  Rule  Bill,  96  ;  ex- 
clusion of  Ulster,  168 

Morley,  Viscoiint,  Life  of  Gladstone, 
17  ;  on  the  resistance  of  Ulster, 
154 ;  helps  Colonel  Seely  to 
draft  the  "  peccant  paragraphs," 
181,   183 

Morning  Post,  The,  79,  225,  229, 
283  note 

Motu  Propria,  Vatican  decree,   11 

Mount  Stewart,  82,  225 

Mountjoy,  the,  87,  214 

Mountjoy  II,  s.s.,  cargo  landed  at 
Larne,  214,  218 

Moyle,  the,  193 

Musgrave  Channel,  211,  217 

Musgrave,  Henry,   156 

Nation,  The,  158 

National  Insurance  Bill,  53 

Nationalist  Pany,  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  22,  26  :  attitude  on 
the  war,  267  ;  opposition  to 
conscription,  269-273 

Nationalists,  the,  compared  with 
the  Ulster  Uniomists,  2 ;  dis- 
loyalty, 4-6;  policy,  6,  78,  141, 
142  ;  ancestry,  8  ;  demand  dis- 
solution of  the  Union,  14  ;  atti- 
tude on  the  war,  231,  233,  252 ; 


members    of    the    Irish    Conven- 
tion,   256-262  ;     letter   to    Pres. 
Wilson,   273,   287-295 ;    demand 
"self-determination,"   291,   298 
Nationality,   root   of,    2 ;     plea    of 

14,   15 
Navy,  reduction  of,  167,  201 
Nee  Temere,  Vatican  decree,  11 
Neild,  Herbert,  at  Belfast,  81 
Newcastle,      149,      153 ;       training 

camp,  237 
Newman,  Cardinal,  5 
Newry,  177 
Newtownards,    225 ;     meeting    at, 

108,  114 
Nineteenth  Century,  The,   183  note, 

239  note 
Nonconformists,   9  ;    opposition  to 

Home  Rule,  155 
Northclifie,  Viscount,  225 
Norwich,  Ulster  members  at,  150 

O'Brien,  William,  22  ;  on  the  Mili- 
tary Service  Bill,  270  ;  letter  to 
Pres.  Wilson,  273,  287-295 

Observer,  The,  84,  115  note,  225 

O'Connell,  Daniel,  7 

O'Connor,  T.  P.,  127,  174,  275; 
on  Home  Rule,  253 

Omagh,  military  depot,  175,  176 

Omash,  Miss,  viii 

O'Neill,  Capt.  Hon.  Arthur,  230; 
killed  in  the  war,  241,  253 

O'Neill,  Major  Hugh,  serves  in 
the  war,  242 ;  Speaker  of  the 
Northern  Parliament,  282 

O'Neill,  Hugh,  Earl  of  Tyrone,  7 

O'Neill,  Laurence,  Lord  Mayor  of 
Dublin,  letter  to  Pres.  Wilson, 
273,  287-295 

O'Neill,  Hon.  R.  T.,  member  of  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council,   36 

Ormsby-Gore,  Capt.  the  Hon. 
W.  G.  A.,  at  Belfast,  81 

O'Shea,  divorce,  17 

Paget,  Sir  Arthur,  Commander-in- 
Chief  in  Ireland,  letter  from 
Colonel  Seely,  175  ;  in  London, 
176 ;  interviews  with  Ministers, 
177  ;  instructions  from  the  War 
Office,  178,  180;  conference 
with  his  officers,  179,  185 ;  on 
the  emplovment  of  troops  in 
Ulster,   186' 

Parliament,  assembled,  23,  131, 
167;  dissolved,  23,  275;  ad- 
journed, 99 

Parliament  Act,  23,  27,  43-46,  53, 
91 

Parliamentary  Debates,  viii,  29  note, 
142,  179  note,  181  note,   185  note 


SOS 


INDEX 


Parnell,  Charles,  saying  of,  6 ; 
leader  of  the  Nationalist  Party, 
6  ;    downfall,  17 

Pathfinder,  H.M.S.,   178 

Patriotic,  R.M.S.,  128 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  138 

Peel,  W.,  at  Belfast,  81 

"  People's  Budget,"  20 ;  rejec- 
tion, 42 

Percival-Maxwell,  Col.,  Privy  Coun- 
cillor, 284 

Phoenix  Park  murders,  243 

Pirrie,  Lord,  unpopularity  in  Bel- 
fast, 63  ;    peerage  conferred,  284 

Pitt,  Rt.  Hon.  William,  15 

Plunkett,  Sir  Horace,  Chairman  of 
the  Irish  Convention,  257,  261  ; 
letter  to  Lloyd  George,  264 

Pollock,  Sir  Ernest,  at  Belfast,  81 

Pollock,  H.  M.,  member  of  the  Irish 
Convention,  257,  262 

Portadown,  meeting  at,  108,  114 

Portland,  Duke  of,  signs  the  Bri- 
tish Covenant,  170 

Portrush,  55,   193 

Presbyterian  Church,  General  As- 
sembly of  the,  155 

Presbyterians,  political  views,   12 

Preston,  George,  subscription  to  the 
Indemnity  Guarantee  Fund,   156 

Prisoners,  release  of,  256 

Protestants,  Irish,  distrust  of  Ro- 
man Catholics,  9  ;  dislike  of 
clerical  influence,  10 

Ramsay,  Sir  W.,  signs  the  British 
Covenant,  170 

Ranfurly,  Earl  of,  organises  the 
Ulster  Loyalist  Union,  30,  37  ; 
member  of  the  Unionist  Council, 
35 

Raphoe,  Bishop  of,  member  of  the 
Irish  Convention,  258,   260-262 

Rawlinson,  J.  F.  P.,  at  Belfast,  81 

Reade,  R.  H.,  35 

Reading,  Mr.  Asquith  at,  24  ;  elec- 
tion, 155 

Redistribution  Act,  275 

Redmond,  Capt.,  275 

Redmond,  John,  174;  on  the 
national  movement,  7  ;  policy, 
22  ;  on  Home  Rule,  27,  54  ;  with 
Mr.  W.  Churchill  in  Belfast,  63, 
68 ;  opinion  of  Sir  E.  Carson's 
speech,  133 ;  protests  against 
Amending  Bill,  222  ;  at  Bucking- 
ham Palace  Conference,  227  ;  con- 
ditional offer  of  help  in  the  war, 
231,  233 ;  tribute  to,  239  ;  pat- 
riotism, 239  ;  refuses  office,  242  ; 
at  DubUn,  249  ;  on  the  exclusion 
of  Ulster,  250 ;    manifesto,  254  ; 


at  the  Irish  Convention,  260-262 ; 
death,  262  ;  on  the  condition  of 
Ireland,  298 

Redmond,  Major  W.,  his  speech 
in  the  House,  253;  killed  in  the 
war,    253 

Reform  Club,  Belfast,  122,  124,  191 

Re  id,  Whitelaw,  274 

Renan,  E.,  on  the  root  of  nation- 
ality, 2 

Reynolds'' s  Newspaper,  89 

Richardson,  Gen.  Sir  George,  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  U.V.F., 
161,  197  ;  career,  161  ;  character- 
istics, 162  ;  at  Belfast,  162,  217  ; 
reviews  the  U.V.F.,  163-165 

Rifles,  seized  by  Government,  161> 
195;  purchase  of,  198;  packing, 
201 ;  landed  in  Ulster,  219 

Roberts,  F.-M.  Earl,  130,  188  ; 
letter  to  Col.  Hickman,  161,  195  ; 
signs  British  Covenant,  170 ; 
congratulations  to  Sir  E.  Car- 
son, 220 ;  on  the  result  of 
coercing  Ulster,  224 

Robertson,  Rt.  Hon.  J.  M.,  Secre- 
tary to  the  Board  of  Trade,  on 
fiscal  autonomy  for  Ireland,  76 ; 
at  Newcastle,  153 

Rochdale,  Unionist  Association  at, 
99 

Roe,  Owen,  7 

Roman  Catholics,  Irish,  disloyalty 
9  ;  character  of  the  priest,  10  ; 
methods  of  enforcing  obedience, 
10-12 

Rosebery,  Earl  of,  15,  18  ;  at  Glas- 
gow, 22  ;  on  the  characteristics 
of  the  Ulster  race,   101 

Rosslare,  220 

Royal  Irish  Rifles,  the  5th,  57 

Russia,  collapse  of,  268 

Russian  rifles,  198 

S  B.,  the  Hebrew  dealer  in  fire- 
arms, 197  ;  agreement  with 
Major  F.  H.  Crawford,  197-200 ; 
honesty,  204 

St.  Aldwyn,  Viscount,  on  the  King's 
Prerogative,  151 

Salisbury,  Marq.  of,  at  Belfast,  13, 
81;  message  from,  109;  views 
on  Home  Rule,  128 

Salvidge,  Mr.,  Alderman  of  Liver- 
pool, 127,  128  ;  signs  the  British 
Covenant,  170 

Samuel,  Mr.  Herbert,  at  Belfast,  54 

Sanderson,  Colonel,  Chairman  of  the 
Ulster  Parliamentary  Party,  35, 
38 

Saturday  Review,  The,  extract  from, 
70 


INDEX 


809 


Sclater,  Edward,  Secretary  of  the 
Unionist  Clubs,  53 

Scotland,  the  Covenant,   103 

Scotstyian,  The,  101,  225,  274  note 

Seely,  Col.  Sec.  of  State  for  War, 
letter  to  Sir  A.  Paget,  175 ; 
statement  to  Gen.  Gough,  ISl  ; 
adds  paragraphs,  181,  183;  on 
the  Curragh  Incident,  182 ;  re- 
signation,  183,   184 

Seymour,  Adm.  Sir  E.,  signs  Bri- 
tish Covenant,   170 

Sharman-Crawford,  Col.,  member 
of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Council,  35  ; 
of  the  Commission  of  Five,  53 

Shaw,  Lord,  Letters  to  Isabel,  18  note 

Shiel  Park,  meeting  at,   128 

Shipyards,  observance  of  Ulster 
Day,   117 

Shortt,  Rt.  Hon.  E.,  Chief  Secre- 
tary for  Ireland,  272 

Simon,  Sir  John,  175 

Sinclair,  Rt.  Hon.  Thomas,  at  the 
Ulster    Convention,     33  ;     mem- 
ber of  the  Ulster  Unionist  Coun- 
cil, 35,  67  ;    on  Home  Rule,  38 
member    of    a    Commission,    63 
on     the     Covenant,     104,     109 
signs  it,  121 

Sinn  Fein  party,  refuse  to  join  the 
Convention,  255  ;  in  league  with 
Germany,  271,  276;  arrests, 
271  ;  members  of  Parliament,  275, 
276 ;  treason  of,  276 ;  congress 
in  Dublin,   276 ;    outrages,   277 

Sinn  Feinism,  spirit  of,  4 

Skipton,   167 

Smiley,  Kerr,  156 

Smith,  Rt.  Hon.  F.  E.  (Lord  Bir- 
kenhead), on  the  policy  of  Ulster, 
97,  98  ;  on  the  Covenant,  109  ; 
at  the  Ulster  Club,  125;  at 
Liverpool,  127  ;  at  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  U.V.F.,  162;  "gal- 
loper" to  Gen.  Sir  G.  Richard- 
son,   163 

Smith,  Mr.  Harold,  109 

Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  104  ; 
see  Ulster 

Somme,  battle  of  the,  234 

Spectator,   The,   225 

Spender,  Col.  W.  BUss,  U.V.F.,  197, 
203,  207,  215;  awarded  the 
O.B.E.,  284 

Standard,  The,  70,  118,  225 

Star,  The,  extract  from,  89 

Stronge,  Sir  James,  member  of  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council,   35 

Stuart- Wortley,  Mr.,  at  Belfast,  81 

Submarine  warfare,  253 

Suffragists'  campaign,   167 

Swift,  patriotism,  7 


Tariff  Reform  policy,  18,  19  ;  con- 
troversy, 59,  155,   167 

Templetcwn,  Lord,  founds  the 
Unionist  Clubs,  30,  31 

Thiepval,  battle  at,  234 

Times,  The,  32;  64,  69,  71,  77,  79, 
82,  84,  99,  110,  115,  124,  126, 
139,  140,  153,  172,  182,  187,  225  ; 
letters  in,   152,   165 

Tirah  Expedition,  161 

Tone,  Wolfe,  7,  46,   142 

Tramp  steamer,  diverts  suspicion, 
217 

Turkington,  James  A.,  letter  to 
Pres.  Wilson,  296-299 

Tuskar  Light,   210,   211 

Tyrone,  contingent  of  Orangemen, 
57 

Ulster,  use  of  the  term,  vii;  oppo- 
sition to  Home  Rule,  1,  2,  30 ; 
loyalty,  2-4,  33,  63,  139-143,  251  ; 
ancestry,  8  ;  political  views,  12  ; 
landlords  and  tenants,  12  ;  mot- 
toes, 13,  33  ;  reluctant  acceptance 
of  a  separate  constitution,  14 ; 
organisations,  30-38  ;  policy,  33, 
51,  75,  77,  92,  93-100,  133,  136- 
143  ;  military  drilling,  57  ;  char- 
acteristics of  the  people,  101  ; 
time  limit  for  exclusion,  171  ; 
plot  against,  174;  emigrants  in 
America,  274,  297 ;  result  of 
the  Government  of  Ireland  Act, 
280 

Ulster,  British  League  for  the  sup- 
port of,  formed,  147 

Ulster  Club,  Belfast,  125 

Ulster,  Convention  of  1892,  80,  109 

Ulster  Covenant,  draft,  104  ;  terms, 
105-107 ;  series  of  demonstra- 
tions, 108-110;  meeting  in  the 
Ulster  Hall,  114;  signing  the, 
120-124;  anniversary,  158,  165, 
236 

Ulster  Day,  165,  236;  religious 
observance,  107,  117 

Ulster  Division,  1st  Brigade,  train- 
ing, 237  ;    recruiting,  238 

Ulster  Hall,  283;  meetings,  30, 
38,  40,  42,  62,  106,  108,  114, 
237;    service,  118,   158 

Ulster  Loyalist  Anti-Repeal  Union, 
37 

Ulster  Loyalist  and  Patriotic  Union, 
30 

Ulster  Movement,  vii,  1 

Ulster  Parliament,  appointment  of 
Ministers,  281-2  ;  opened,  282-6 

Ulster  Provisional  Government,  63, 
145,  156,  163;  judiciary,  146; 
constitution,  226 


310 


INDEX 


Ulster  Unionist  Clubs,  founded,  30-1 

Ulster  Unionist  Coiincil,  vii,  35 ; 
meetings,  27,  42,  52,  62,  65-67, 
106,  145,  156,  210,  226,  236, 
246-249,  279  ;  members,  35,  36  ; 
co-operation  with  the  Irish 
Unionist  Alliance,  37  ;  resolution 
adopted,  68-71  ;  character,  75  ; 
scheme  for  the  Provisional 
Government,  145  ;  statement  on 
the  Cm-ragh  Incident,  186 

Ulster  Unionist  Members  of  Parlia- 
ment, 38  ;  tour  in  Scotland  and 
England,   149 

Ulster  Unionists,  letter  to  Pres. 
Wilson,  273,  296-299 

Ulster  Volunteer  Force,  58,  113, 
137,  160  ;  Indemnity  Guarantee 
Fund,  156,  163 ;  growth,  158, 
160;  parades,  162,  163-165,  167, 
223,  226 ;  strength,  168  ;  arm- 
ing the,  192-200,  223  ;  organisa- 
tion, 216  ;  despatch-riders'  corps, 
215;  trial  mobilisation,  216; 
presentation  of  colours,  223  ; 
volunteer  for  service  in  the  war, 
229 ;  organisation  and  training 
of  the  Division,  234 

Ulster  Women's  Unionist  Associa- 
tion, -^^^rk  of  the,  166 

Ulster  Women's  Unionist  Council, 
formed,  37;    meeting,  113 

"Ulster  1912,"  Rudyard  Kipling's, 
79,   129 

"  Ulster's  Reward,"  William  Wat- 
son's, 129 

Union  Defence  League,  in  London, 
37 

Unionist  Associations  of  Ireland, 
joint  conunittee,  37 

Unionist  Party,  administration,  18, 
20 ;  defeated,  18 ;  number  of 
votes,  22,  26,  99 ;  dissensions 
on  Tariff  Reform,  59  ;  members 
at  Belfast,  81 

Unionists,  Southern  manifesto,  265 ; 
Committee  formed,  265 ;  result 
of  the  Government  Act,  282 

Valera,  E.  De,  M.P.  for  East  Clare, 
256 ;  arrested,  277 ;  deported, 
295 

Vatican  decrees,  11 

Vickers  &  Co.,  Messrs.,  194 

Victoria,  Queen,  136 

Wallace,  Col.  R.  H.,  member  of  the 
Ulster  Unionist  Council,  35 ; 
member  of  a  Commission,  53 ; 
Grand  Master  of  the  Belfast 
Lodges,     67 ;      popularity,     57 ; 


career,  57 ;  applies  for  leave  to 
drill,  58  ;  at  the  Ulster  Unionist 
Council  meeting,  67,  72 ;  pre- 
sentation of  a  banner  to  Sir  E; 
Carson,  115;  Command  in  the 
U.V.F.,  163,  164;  Privy  Coun- 
cillor, 284 

Wallsend,  154 

Walter,  Mr.  John,  225 

War,  the  Great,  27,  228,  266 

War  Oflfice,  treatment  of  Gen. 
Gough,   181 

Ward,  Lieut. -Col.  Johr,  on  the 
Curragh  Incident,  182 ;  "  The 
Army  and  Ireland,"  183  note,  238 

Warden,  F,  W.,  72  note 

Washington,  George,  273,  291 

Watson,  Sir  William,  "  Ulster's 
Reward,"   129 

Waziri  Expedition,  161 

Westminster  Gazette,  114;  car- 
toon, 87 

Whig  Revolution  of  1688,  31 

White  Paper,  175  note,  176  note, 
177  note,  178  note,  179  note,  180 
note,  181  note,  185,  187  note,  188 

^Villiam  III,  King,  banner,  115 

Willoughby  de  Broke,  Lord,   109 

Wilson,  President,  letter  from  the 
Nationalists,  273,  287-295  ;  from 
the  Unionists,  273,  296-299  ; 
phrase  of  "  self-determination," 
277 

Wimborne,  Lord,  Lord-Lieutenant 
of  Ireland,  resignation,  272 

Wolff,  G.,  35 

Wolseley,  Viscount,  187 

Women's  Unionist  Council,  Ulster, 
formed,  37;    meeting,  113 

Workman  and  Clark,  Messrs.,  214 

Workman,  Frank,  157 

Wynyard,  Lord  Londonderry's 
death  at,  241 

Yarmouth,  207 

York,  149 

York,    Archbp.    of,    on    the   Home 

Rule  Bill,  134 
Yorkshire  Post,  The,  149,  163 
Young,  Rt.    Hon.  John,  member  of 

the  Ulster  Unionist  Council,  35  ; 

at  the  meeting,   67  ;    takes   part 

in  the  campaign,  109  ;    signs  the 

Covenant,  122 
Young,  W.  R.,  organises  the  Ulster 

Loyalist  and  Patriotic  Union,  30, 

37 ;     signs    the    Covenant,    122 ; 

Privy  Councillor,  284 

Zhob  Valley  Field  Force,  expedi- 
tion, 161 


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